RBI shuffles roles of deputy governors

The newly appointed RBI deputy governor M Rajeshwar Rao has taken charge of key portfolios in the regulation, enforcement, inspection, risk monitoring and legal departments. He will also be in charge of communications.

Rao was appointed deputy governor in place of N S Vishwanathan who retired three months ahead of schedule on March 31 for health reasons. Rao, a career central banker, was elevated to the executive director position on November 7, 2016 and was the senior-most among the EDs who interviewed for the position.

The regulation and enforcement portfolio has gained significance after the RBI merged the department of regulations for banking, cooperative banks and NBFCs into one. The RBI rejigged the portfolios of all deputy governors. B P Kanungo, the senior-most deputy governor from the RBI, will be in charge of coordination, currency management, external investments, government accounts, IT, payments, RTI and forex department. M K Jain, the deputy governor from the banking industry, will hold the charge of supervision, financial inclusion, HR, corporate strategy and budget department.

Michael Patra, the deputy governor representing the RBI in the monetary policy panel, will continue to be in charge of economic policy & research, statistics, deposit insurance, financial markets regulation and financial stability.