Government Calls For Applications To Hire New RBI Deputy Governor

The government has called for applications to find a replacement for Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Michael Patra, who is set to retire in January.

In a newspaper advertisement, the government has invited applications from candidates with at least 25 years experience in public administration, including experience at a secretary level or equivalent in the government. Candidates with at least 25 years experience in an Indian or international public finance institution will also be considered.

The candidate should not be over 60 years of age as of Jan. 15, 2025, according to the advertisement. The appointment will be for a period of three years and the successful candidate will be eligible for reappointment at the end of this period.

Applications are expected to be submitted by Nov. 30 to the Department of Financial Services at the Ministry of Finance.

In August 2019, a similar advertisement was placed in the newspapers after then RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya abruptly exited. Acharya had announced that he would not be able to continue his term beyond July 23, 2019, due to "unavoidable circumstances". This was six months before his tenure was to officially conclude.

Patra was finally appointed as RBI Deputy Governor in January 2020. Patra is one of the three RBI appointed members on the Monetary Policy Committee which sets the policy rates.

He is currently incharge of multiple portfolios, including the monetary policy department and the department of economic and policy research. Apart from these, Patra also manages the financial markets regulation and operations departments at the RBI.