RBI Governors of India (1935 to 2024): Know the complete list of Governors of the Reserve Bank of India

Mahima Mishra2024-01-22

0 42 7 minutes read

Reserve Bank of India or RBI was established on 1st April 1935 under the Reserve Bank of India, Act. Initially, it was established as a private bank. After independence, it was nationalized on 1st January 1949. The headquarters of RBI is in Mumbai. The first governor of RBI was Osborne Smith who took the responsibility in 1935. Shaktikanta Das is the 25th and current RBI governor of India. Those students preparing for various examinations especially in the field of banking should know the names of all RBI Governors of India. Different GK questions are put up in exams like IBPS, SSC, RBI, SBI, etc. from the list of RBI Governors of India. In this post, we are going to provide the list of the names of all RBI Governors of India.

RBI Governors of India List (1935 to 2024)

Here is the list of all Governors of the Reserve Bank of India. We have included governors from both pre and post Independence eras.

Sir Osborne Smith

Starting of the term – 1st April 1935
End of the term – 30th June 1935
Duration (Term) in the office – 2 years and 90 days
Background – Banker
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Managing Governor of the Imperial Bank of India

Sir James Braid Taylor

Starting of the term – 1st July 1937
End of the term – 17th February 1943
Duration (Term) in the office – 5 years 231 days
Background – Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Controller of Currency

Sir C. D. Deshmukh

Starting of the term – 11th August 1943
End of the term – 30th June 1949
Duration (Term) in the office – 5 years 323 days
Background – Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Custodian of Enemy Property

Sir Benegal Rama Rau

Starting of the term – 1st July 1949
End of the term – 14 January 1957
Duration (Term) in the office – 7 years 197 days
Background – Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Ambassador of India to the United States, Ambassador of India to Japan, Chairman of Bombay Port Trust

K. G. Ambegaonkar

Starting of the term – 14th January 1957
End of the term – 28th February 1962
Duration (Term) in the office – 45 days
Background – Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Finance Secretary

H. V. R. Iyengar

Starting of the term – 1st March 1957
End of the term – 28th February 1962
Duration (Term) in the office – 4 years 364 days
Background – Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI)

P. C. Bhattacharya

Starting of the term – 1st March 1962
End of the term – 30th June 1967
Duration (Term) in the office – 5 years 121 days
Background – Indian Audit and Accounts Service Officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Chairman of the State Bank of India, Secretary in the Ministry of Finance

Lakshmi Kant Jha

Starting of the term – 1st July 1967
End of the term – 3rd May 1970
Duration (Term) in the office – 2 years 306 days
Background – ICS Officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Secretary to the Prime Minister of India

B. N. Adarkar

Starting of the term – 4th May 1970
End of the term – 15th June 1970
Duration (Term) in the office – 42 days
Background – Economist
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund

Sarukkai Jagannathan

Starting of the term – 16th June 1970
End of the term – 19th May 1975
Duration (Term) in the office – 4 years 337 days
Background – ICS Officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Executive Director at the World Bank

N. C. Sen Gupta

Starting of the term – 19th May 1975
End of the term – 19th August 1975
Duration (Term) in the office – 92 days
Background – ICS officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Banking Secretary

K. R. Puri

Starting of the term – 20th August 1975
End of the term – 2nd May 1977
Duration (Term) in the office – 1 year 255 days
Background – LIC
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Chairman and managing director of the Life Insurance Corporation

M. Narasimham

Starting of the term – 3rd May 1977
End of the term – 30th November 1977
Duration (Term) in the office – 211 days
Background – Career Reserve Bank of India Officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India

I. G. Patel

Starting of the term – 1st December 1977
End of the term – 15th September 1982
Duration (Term) in the office – 4 years 288 days
Background – Economist
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Director of the London School of Economics, Deputy Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India

Manmohan Singh

Starting of the term – 16th September 1982
End of the term – 14th January 1985
Duration (Term) in the office – 2 years 120 days
Background – Economist
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India

Amitav Ghosh

Starting of the term – 15th January 1985
End of the term – 4th February 1985
Duration (Term) in the office – 20 days
Background – Banker
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Chairman of the Allahabad Bank

R. N. Malhotra

Starting of the term – 4th February 1985
End of the term – 22nd December 1990
Duration (Term) in the office – 5 years 321 days
Background – Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Finance Secretary, Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund

S. Venkitaramanan

Starting of the term – 22nd December 1990
End of the term – 21st December 1992
Duration (Term) in the office – 2 years
Background – IAS officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Finance Secretary

C. Rangarajan

Starting of the term – 22nd December 1992
End of the term – 21st November 1997
Duration (Term) in the office – 4 years 334 days
Background – Economist
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India

Bimal Jalan

Starting of the term – 22nd November 1997
End of the term – 6th September 2003
Duration (Term) in the office – 5 years 288 days
Background – Economist
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Finance Secretary, Banking Secretary, Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India.

Y. Venugopal Reddy

Starting of the term – 6th September 2003
End of the term – 5th September 2008
Duration (Term) in the office – 4 years 365 days
Background – IAS Officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India

D. Subbarao

Starting of the term – 5th September 2008
End of the term – 4th September 2013
Duration (Term) in the office – 4 years 364 days
Background – Economist
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Finance Secretary, Member-Secretary of the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister

Raghuram Rajan

Starting of the term – 4th September 2013
End of the term – 4th September 2016
Duration (Term) in the office – 3 years
Background – Economist
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, Chief Economist of International Monetary Fund

Urjit Patel

Starting of the term – 4th September 2016
End of the term – 10th December 2018
Duration (Term) in the office – 2 year 98 days
Background – Economist
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank

Shaktikanta Das

Starting of the term – 12th December 2018
End of the term – Incumbent
Duration (Term) in the office – To be notified
Background – IAS officer
Office prior to RBI Governor of India – Member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission, Sherpa of India to the G20, Economic Affairs Secretary, Revenue Secretary

What are the powers of RBI Governors?

An RBI Governor has many important powers, some of which are as follows.

The governor is responsible for providing licenses to different private and foreign banks in India.
He is also responsible for regulating the financial system of the nation.
The governor of RBI also promotes orderly development and maintenance of the foreign exchange market in India.
He formulates the policies of RBI which is the most prestigious financial institution in India.
The governor plays a very important role in controlling the interest rate such as repo-rate, reverse repo rate, etc.

Eligibility to become a RBI Governor

Please note that there is no fixed set of eligibility criteria for the post of RBI Governor. Still, we can say that he should be a highly qualified, respected, and courageous economist. Given below are some of the criteria that the RBI Governor must meet as per our observations of the post Governors qualification.

You must have a degree from a prestigious University. For example – Urjit Patel is a graduate of Yale University.
Being an IAS (Finance Secretary) or renowned Economist can also help.
Previous experience with Financial Institutes like IMF or World Bank is also desirable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was the first Indian Governor of RBI?

The first Indian to become an RBI Governor was Sir C.D. Deshmukh.

Who appoints the RBI Governor?

The Prime Minister Office (PMO) appoints the RBI Governor on the recommendation of the finance minister of India.

What is the tenure of an RBI Governor?

The tenure of an RBI governor is 3 years. However, it can be extended by 2 more years. The governor can be terminated in the following conditions.
On dismissal of his services by the president of India.
If he submits his resignation to the president of India.

When was RBI established?

The RBI was established on 1st April 1935 under the RBI Act, 1934.

When was the RBI Nationalized?

The RBI was nationalized after independence on 1st January 1949.

Mahima Mishra2024-01-22

0 42 7 minutes read