RBI Guv Shaktikanta Das Named ‘Governor of the Year’ At Central Banking Awards 2023, London

Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das was honoured with the title of ‘Governor of the Year’ for 2023 by Central Banking in London. The organisers of the awards said that Shaktikanta Das “cemented critical reforms, overseen world-leading payments innovation, and steered India through difficult times with a steady hand and well-crafted turn of phrase”. Wishes poured in from all quarters after news of the award emerged on Wednesday.

The RBI governor is behind critical reforms, and has ensured smooth management of world-leading payments innovation and led India through difficult times, said the organisers.

“The RBI governor has cemented critical reforms, overseen world-leading payments innovation and steered India through difficult times with a steady hand and well-crafted turn of phrase,” the organisers said in a statement.

He was recommended for the award by the publication in March 2023. He was awarded the title for his leadership of the central bank during global turmoil and tough situations. He managed India’s central bank, and ultimately the whole banking system with finesse during the COVID-19 pandemic, significant non-banking companies, the Russia-Ukraine war, etc.

Shaktikanta Das held the position in December, 2018. Months before his appointment, India’s major Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) went bankrupt, triggering a liquidity crunch. The NBFC fallout also revealed huge deficiencies in the business models of several mid-sized banks that were heavily dependent on NBFCs. Afterward, several other banks like Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank, also collapsed.

Moreover, he is the second Central Bank governor to be honoured with the award after Raghuram Rajan, who bagged the title in 2015.

Under his leadership, RBI was instrumental in implementing crucial reforms, innovative payment systems, and growth-oriented measures during the pandemic.

Under his leadership, India’s central bank was able to maintain the balance between the need to curb inflation and manage political pressure.