Shaktikanta Das Thanks Modi, Sitharaman On His Way Out As RBI Governor

Shaktikanta Das, the 25th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, is set to demit office on Tuesday, marking the end of his six-year tenure at the helm of the country’s central bank. His departure comes as Sanjay Malhotra, the current Revenue Secretary, is poised to take over as the 26th Governor of the RBI.

In a heartfelt message on social media platform X, Das expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve the country. "Will demit office as Governor RBI later today. Thank you everyone for your support and good wishes," he posted.

Under Das's leadership, the RBI dealt with key challenges, including the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent recovery phase.

He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his guidance throughout his tenure. "Immensely grateful to the Hon’ble PM @narendramodi for giving me this opportunity to serve the country as Governor RBI and for his guidance and encouragement. Benefited a lot from his ideas and thoughts," Das wrote.

Additionally, Das acknowledged the constant support of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, recognising the importance of the collaboration between the fiscal and monetary arms of the government. "Heartfelt thanks to Hon’ble FM @nsitharaman for her constant support and backing. The fiscal-monetary coordination was at its best and helped us to deal with the multiple challenges during the last six years," he stated.

Das’s tenure saw significant achievements, including leading India’s central bank through the pandemic while maintaining economic stability. He was also twice ranked as the world’s top central banker by the US-based Global Finance magazine.

Das also thanked the entire financial industry and said, "I thank all the stakeholders in the financial sector and in the economy; experts and economists; industry bodies and associations; organisations in the agriculture, cooperative & service sectors for their inputs and policy suggestions"

Das chaired his final meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee last week, where decisions on interest rates and monetary policy direction were discussed.

Lastly, Das poured his heart out to the entire team of RBI as he said, "A BIG thank you to the entire Team RBI. Together, we successfully navigated an exceptionally difficult period of unprecedented global shocks. May the RBI grow even taller as an institution of trust and credibility. My best wishes to each one of you"