Outlook Business Desk
The Centre has approved Dr Urjit Patel, former Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a period of three years.
Patel’s appointment follows the early termination of Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian’s term as India’s Executive Director at the IMF. Subramanian’s tenure was cut short by six months in April 2025
Born in Kenya, Patel began his career at the IMF over 30 years ago, initially in Washington DC. In 1992, he moved to India as IMF’s deputy resident representative in New Delhi, gaining extensive experience in international monetary and financial policies before joining the RBI.
Dr Urjit Patel took charge as the 24th governor of the RBI in 2016, succeeding Raghuram Rajan. He stepped down in 2018, completing the shortest term since 1992, amid disputes with the government over the government's electoral bond scheme, the RBI's autonomy and capital transfers.
Patel resigned as RBI governor after disagreements with the Modi government over central bank autonomy, capital transfers, and bank regulation. The tensions escalated when then-deputy governor Viral Acharya warned that compromising RBI’s independence could have serious economic consequences.
Before and after leading the RBI, Patel worked as a consultant for the Ministry of Finance and held roles in both public and private sectors, including Reliance Industries, IDFC Ltd, MCX Ltd, and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation.
Patel has also served on several high-level central and state government committees, including the High-Level Expert Group on Civil and Defence Services Pensions, the Prime Minister’s Infrastructure Task Force, Civil Aviation Reforms Committee, Telecom Group of Ministers, and the Power Ministry’s Expert Group on State Electricity Boards.
Patel earned his PhD in economics from Yale University, an MPhil from the University of Oxford, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of London.