The Centre has extended the tenure of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor Michael Patra by another year. The extension takes effect from January 15 this year. Patra is in charge of the all-important monetary policy department and a member of the rate-setting panel.
“The appointment committee of the Cabinet has approved the re-appointment of Dr Michael Debabrata Patra, deputy governor, Reserve Bank of India, for a further period of one year, w.e.f 15.01.2024 or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” said the department of personnel and training.
Patra was first appointed as the RBI deputy governor in January 2020 for three years. Last year, the government extended his term by one year. Patra, a career central banker since 1985, has worked in various positions in the RBI. Before becoming deputy governor, Patra was executive director of the RBI. As an Executive Director also, he was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the central bank. He will continue to be an ex-officio member of the MPC as the deputy governor. Patra is the only member of the MPC who has been on the rate-setting panel since its inception in 2016.
He worked in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as Senior Adviser to the Executive Director (India) from December 2008 to June 2012, when he actively engaged in the work of the IMF’s Executive Board through the period of the global financial crisis and the ongoing Euro area sovereign debt crisis.
A fellow of Harvard University, where he undertook post-doctoral research in financial stability, he has a PhD in Economics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.