The current RBI Governor of India Sanjay Malhotra from Dec 9, 2024.The list of RBI governors of India from 1935 to till date is given in this article. RBI  the Reserve Bank of India is a statutory body. The RBI was established through the act called Reserve Bank of India Act 1934 based on the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission. It is considered an independent institution that comes under the control of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India after it was nationalized in 1949.

The basic idea of the banks is constituted to;

• Regulate the issue of bank notes.

• Maintain reserves with the view of securing monetary stability and

• To operate the credit and currency system of the country to its advantage.

Before we get going to the main content of the RBI Governors of India topic the aspirants should know some important facts about RBI Governors of India.

• Present RBI Governor of India - Sanjay Malhotra (9/Dec/2024) (26th Governor)

• Tenure Period - 5 Years

• Longest Serving Governor - Sir Benegal Rama Rau - 7 Years - 1949 to 1957.

• The first Female Governor of RBI - KJ Udeshi - was first appointed in 2003

• Age Limit of RBI Governor - Between 40 to 60 years of age.

This topic will help the aspirants improve their knowledge about the RBI Governors of India from 1935 to 2024.

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List of RBI Governors of India

Let us have a look at the detailed information of the Reserve Bank of India and the list of RBI Governors of India. 

Reserve Bank of India

The Reserve Bank of India, located in Mumbai, uses monetary policy to create financial stability and regulates the country’s currency and credit systems. The RBI governs the workings of other banks and serves the financial market in many ways. The bank sets the overnight interbank lending rate. 

The main purpose of the RBI is to conduct consolidated supervision of the financial sector in India, which is made up of commercial banks, financial institutions, and non-banking finance firms. Initiatives adopted by the RBI include restructuring bank inspections, introducing off-site surveillance of banks and financial institutions, and strengthening the role of auditors.

RBI Governors of India

RBI Governors of India is a member of the Strategic Policy Group headed by National Security Advisor,  Ajit Doval. It is a crucial wing of the National Security Council. The term of office typically runs for three years and can, in some cases, be extended for another two years. The Governor of RBI is appointed by the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) on the recommendation of the Union Finance Minister.

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RBI Governors of India - Eligibility

Initially, RBI Governors of India was a part of Indian Civil services but any individual who holds a Graduate degree/ Post Graduate/ Chartered Accountant can become a Governor of RBI provided that he had worked in any of the following institutions:

• IMF/ World Bank.
• Chairman or General Manager of a Bank.
• Reputed Financial or Banking organization.
• Ministry of Finance (GOI)

Other than the above any citizen who is 35 years or above than that is eligible. He must not be a member of the Parliament/State Legislature also he must not hold any other office for profit.

Role and Responsibilities of RBI Governors of India

Here are some duties which are generally performed by the RBI Governors.

• The powers of the governors include,

• • Banker’s banker
  • Heads all the commercial banks
  • Influencing micro and macro economies
  • Control over the stock market
  • Signatures on currency notes and
  • Control over the monetary, currency, and credit system.

• The RBI governors of India are responsible for maintaining the monetary stability of an economy. Thus, plays an important role in formulating the policies of the Reserve Bank of India.
• The responsibility for issuing licenses to open new foreign and private banks is also headed by the governor of RBI.
• The power to control the interest rates on advances and deposits of the country is vested in the governors. However, the scope of this power is limited to prescribing minimum lending rates and interest rates on savings accounts.
• The financial system of the nation is regulated and administered by the Governor and only sets the parameters within which the whole financial system functions.
• The Governor of RBI manages external trade and payment and also promotes orderly development and maintenance of the foreign exchange market in India which comes under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, of 1999.
• Monitoring of adequate quantities of currency notes and coins supply in the country and the issuance and destruction of currency are not fit for circulation in public.
• RBI Governor also keeps a check on rules and regulations to make them more customer-friendly.
• Through Urban Bank Departments RBI governor leads and supervises primary co-operative banks.
• Furthermore, RBI Governor also has a part to play in facilitating and monitoring the flow of credit to small-scale industries, and rural, and agricultural sectors. The responsibility for regulating state cooperative banks, regional rural banks, and various local area banks.

The RBI Governors of India perform many more functions than the Central Bank of India.

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RBI Governors Tenure

The tenure of an RBI governor as specified in the constitution is three years however it can be extended for two more years. The Governor can be terminated in two cases and they are as follows:

• If dismissed by the President.
• Resignation is submitted by the Governor to the President.

List of RBI Governors of India From 1935 To 2024

Here is the list of 25 governors of the Reserve Bank of India and explained with the tenure. Read further to know the list of governors of RBI.

The first governor of the Reverse Bank of India and the inaugural officeholder was the British banker Sir, Osborne Smith (April 1, 1935 - June 30, 1937). Before he was the managing Governor of the Imperial Bank of India. The first governor of RBI after Independence was Sir C.D. Deshmukh ( 11 August 1943 - 30 June 1949) and he was an IAS officer before joining RBI.  Sir Benegal Rama Rau (July 1, 1949 -January 14, 1957) was the longest-serving governor, holding office for over seven years. Amitav Ghosh's ( January 15, 1985 – September 4, 1985) 20-day term is the shortest.

Shaktikanta Das is the twenty-fifth governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 12 December 2018 to 9 December 2024. He is the current governor of RBI. Shaktikanta Das is a retired 1980-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre. He was earlier a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission.

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Deputy Governor of RBI List

The Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India is the second most senior executive officer of RBI after its Governor. Since its establishment in 1934, the RBI had 63 deputy governors. The term of office runs for three years and in some cases, be extended for another two years. The list of deputy governors of RBI is tabulated below in this List of RBI Governors of India 2024 post.

The first deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India and the inaugural officeholder James Braid Taylor (1 April 1935 - 30 June 1937) and he was worked as a civil servant before joining RBI. K J Udeshi holds the unique distinction of becoming the first female deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India. The current deputy governors of the Reserve Bank of India are Michael Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar, and Swaminathan Janakiraman join the club of Deputy governors of RBI of India. This is the important information about the list of RBI Governors of India 2024, and Deputy Governors of RBI List, so candidates who are preparing for the banking examinations should be familiar with the List of RBI Governors of India 2024 and Deputy Governors of India List which are provided detailly in this List of RBI Governors of India 2024 article. You can also download the list of RBI Governors of India 2024 pdf for your future reference. 

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FAQs

Q. Who are the current RBI Governors of India?

Sanjay Malhotra is the current Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He replaced Shaktikanta Das and was appointed to the post on December 10, 2024.

Q. How many governors does RBI have in India?

The Government of India appoints the head of RBI who is referred to as the governor. So far RBI had 25 governors.