SUMMARY
Sanjay Malhotra was formerly at the position of Revenue Secretary. His appointment as RBI governor points to the government’s inclinations towards appointing bureaucrats like him to lead the central bank, so as to ensure better synergy between fiscal and monetary policy.
1 / 6Sanjay Malhotra officially began his three-year term as the new and 26th governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today, December 11 (Photo: X).
2 / 6The 56-year-old former Revenue Secretary has taken over from ex-RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. Malhotra, a seasoned bureaucrat, arrived at the central bank’s headquarters this morning, where senior RBI officials warmly received him. (Photo: X).
3 / 6Malhotra signed the documents to take the charge of the central bank in the presence of Deputy Governors Swaminathan J, M Rajeshwar Rao, and T Rabi Sankar. The appointment of Malhotra as the new RBI governor is likely evidence of the government’s intent to appoint public servants in the role to head the central bank, for improved coordination between monetary and fiscal policies (Photo: X).
4 / 6Malhotra is popularly known for his inclination towards focusing on data and constructing predictive models of tax revenue earned by the government. He has affable relations with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and has taken important decisions on tax issues that were long due in the past (Photo: X).
5 / 6Former RBI governor Shaktikanta Das has made a few crucial points towards the end of his term regarding the economic priorities that India must focus on in the upcoming years, primarily the restoration of a balance between growth and inflation.
6 / 6Economists have opined that Malhotra will face some challenges during his term as RBI governor, but probably not as much as his predecessors. The RBI has projected slightly higher GDP growth rate for Q3. This, along with a stable inflation level, may lead Malhotra to cut the repo rate sometime in February 2025.
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