List of Governors of Reserve Bank of India (1935-2025)

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India’s top financial regulator is the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Many people have held the position of Governor of the Reserve Bank of India since it was founded in 1935 by the British colonial administration. On December 11, 2024, Sanjay Malhotra was recently named Governor of the RBI.

After serving as the Reserve Bank of India’s 25th governor for six years, Shaktikanta Das announced his resignation on Tuesday.

In addition to serving as the Central Bank of India’s CEO, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India also serves as the ex-officio chairman of the Central Board of Directors. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor’s signature appears on the Indian currency that the RBI issues. The Indian government appoints the RBI Governor, who serves a three-year term and is eligible for reelection.

The first Governor of the Reserve Bank of India was Sir Osborn Smith, while C.D. Deshmukh was the first Indian Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

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List of all the Governors of the Reserve Bank of India (1935-2025)

No.	Governors	Term Start	Term End	RBI Governor Tenure	Notes
1	Sir Osborne Smith	1 April 1935	30 June 1937	2 years, 90 days	The first Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Smith was a professional banker
2	Sir James Braid Taylor	1 July 1937	17 February 1943	5 years, 231 days	ICS officer, who oversaw the switch from silver to fiat currency throughout the war. died while in office.
3	Sir C. D. Deshmukh	11 August 1943	30 June 1949	5 years, 323 days	The first Indian governor oversaw the asset separation and partition.
4	Sir Benegal Rama Rau	1 July 1949	14 January 1957	7 years, 197 days	The Indian ambassador to the United States was an ICS officer. resigned before the end of the term.
5	K. G. Ambegaonkar	14 January 1957	28 February 1957	45 days	Former Finance Secretary and interim governor following Rama Rau.
6	H. V. R. Iengar	1 March 1957	28 February 1962	4 years, 364 days	Supervised the switch to decimal currency and served as the State Bank of India’s previous chairman.
7	P. C. Bhattacharya	1 March 1962	30 June 1967	5 years, 121 days	Former State Bank of India chairman.
8	Lakshmi Kant Jha	1 July 1967	3 May 1970	2 years, 306 days	After serving as the Prime Minister’s secretary, he was appointed Indian ambassador to the United States.
9	B. N. Adarkar	4 May 1970	15 June 1970	42 days	Former government economic advisor and interim governor.
10	Sarukkai Jagannathan	16 June 1970	19 May 1975	4 years, 337 days	Former executive director of the World Bank; later served as India’s IMF representative.
11	N. C. Sen Gupta	19 May 1975	19 August 1975	92 days	Formerly worked in the Ministry of Finance’s Banking Department; currently serving as interim governor.
12	K. R. Puri	20 August 1975	2 May 1977	1 year, 255 days	LIC’s former chairman oversaw the establishment of regional rural banks.
13	M. Narasimham	3 May 1977	30 November 1977	211 days	Previously worked in the Department of Economic Affairs as a research officer for the RBI.
14	I. G. Patel	1 December 1977	15 September 1982	4 years, 288 days	Oversaw the high-value currency notes’ demonetization.
15	Manmohan Singh	16 September 1982	14 January 1985	2 years, 120 days	Introduced legal banking reforms; later became India’s Prime Minister.
16	Amitav Ghosh	15 January 1985	4 February 1985	20 days	Interim governor until R. N. Malhotra’s appointment.
17	R. N. Malhotra	4 February 1985	22 December 1990	5 years, 321 days	The Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research was established.
18	S. Venkitaramanan	22 December 1990	21 December 1992	1 year, 365 days	Oversaw the IMF’s stabilization program for India during the financial crisis.
19	C. Rangarajan	22 December 1992	21 November 1997	4 years, 334 days	Established unified exchange rate; former deputy governor of RBI.
20	Bimal Jalan	22 November 1997	6 September 2003	5 years, 288 days	Maintained low inflation and interest rates.
21	Y. V. Reddy	6 September 2003	5 September 2008	4 years, 365 days	Contributed to financial sector reforms; focused on external borrowings.
22	D. Subbarao	5 September 2008	4 September 2013	4 years, 364 days	Authored works on decentralisation and public finance.
23	Raghuram Rajan	4 September 2013	4 September 2016	3 years	Former Chief Economic Advisor; emphasised financial reforms.
24	Urjit Patel	4 September 2016	10 December 2018	2 years, 98 days	Oversaw the ₹500 and ₹1,000 note demonetisation; resigned for personal reasons.
25	Shaktikanta Das	12 December 2018	10 December 2024	6 years	Served on the 15th Finance Commission and was formerly the Revenue Secretary..
26	Sanjay Malhotra	11 December 2024	Present	Present	Former Revenue Secretary and Financial Services Secretary.

Current Present Governor of RBI 2025: Sanjay Malhotra

With effect from December 11, 2024, Sanjay Malhotra has been named the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 26th governor. As a result of a cabinet committee resolution, the Union government released this announcement on December 9, 2024. Shaktikanta Das’s six-year term ends on December 10, 2024, and Malhotra, who is now the Secretary of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance, will take over.

Experience and Skills

Sanjay Malhotra is a notable member of the Rajasthan cadre of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) who was born in 1990. He graduated from Princeton University with a master’s degree in public policy and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur with a bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering.

Malhotra has worked in a variety of industries during the course of his more than thirty-year career, including mining, banking, taxation, power, and information technology. He previously held the positions of Chairman and Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Secretary in the Department of Financial Services.

Future Responsibilities

Malhotra confronts many obstacles as he assumes this crucial position. With growth rates falling to a seven-quarter low of 5.4% between July and September, the Indian economy is currently slowing down.

The RBI is under growing pressure to think about lowering interest rates in order to boost the economy. Amid worries about inflation, the RBI kept interest rates constant for almost two years under his predecessor, Shaktikanta Das.

The nomination of Malhotra is indicative of a larger pattern in the Indian government that favors seasoned bureaucrats for important economic roles. His first significant responsibility will be to preside over the February 2025 meeting of the monetary policy committee, which will include important interest rate decisions.

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RBI Governors: Key Points to Note

Sir Benegal Rama Rau has been the Reserve Bank of India’s governor for the longest period of time.
The Reserve Bank of India’s shortest-serving governor is Amitav Ghosh.
From 2003 to 2008, Y.V. Reddy served as governor. During the 2008 financial crisis, he is recognized for having contributed to the stabilization of the Indian economy.
The RBI’s first Indian governor was C.D. Deshmukh.

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FAQs

1. Who is the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) current governor?

Sanjay Malhotra became the Reserve Bank of India’s current governor on December 11, 2024.

2. Who served as the Reserve Bank of India’s first governor?

From April 1, 1935, to June 30, 1937, Sir Osborne Smith was the RBI’s first governor.

3. Who was the RBI’s first Indian governor?

From August 11, 1943, to June 30, 1949, C.D. Deshmukh was the RBI’s first Indian governor.

4. What is the RBI Governor’s tenure?

The RBI Governor is chosen to a three-year term, though the government may decide to prolong it.

5. Who was the RBI Governor with the longest tenure?

From July 1, 1949, till January 14, 1957, Sir Benegal Rama Rau was the Governor of the RBI for 7 years and 197 days.

6. Who was the RBI Governor with the shortest tenure?

The shortest tenure was held by Amitav Ghosh, who served from January 15, 1985, until February 4, 1985, a mere 20 days.

7. During the 2016 demonetization, who was the governor of the RBI?

In November 2016, Urjit Patel served as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India when the ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes were demonetized.

8. During the 2008 financial crisis, who served as the governor of the RBI?

Y.V. Reddy is recognized for having stabilized the Indian economy during the 2008 global financial crisis while serving as the RBI Governor from September 6, 2003, to September 5, 2008.

Shreya