Malhotra has been appointed the 26th Governor of the RBI. He will take over from Das, who was the second longest-serving RBI Governor since Sir Benegal Rama Rau, at a ceremony in Mumbai later this week.

The government will have to find a new revenue secretary at the earliest as the budget making process has already started. Insiders say that several officers with finance ministry background are in the race for this crucial job.   

Das chaired the monetary policy committee meeting last week amid slowing economic growth and high inflation, which decided against cutting the key policy interest rates though it cut cash reserve that banks are expected to keep with the central banker.

With Malhotra taking over, the MPC will have an almost fresh look. Just two months ago-- in October-- three external members -- Ram Singh, Director, Professor, Delhi School of Economics, Saugata Bhattacharya, Economist and former Senior Vice President at Axis Bank, and Nagesh Kumar, Director, and CEO, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development came on board in place of Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma and Shashanka Bhide.

Meanwhile, the RBI has already invited applications for the post of deputy governor and MPC member in place of Michael Debabrata whose tenure will end in January.

Malhotra’s actions will be scrutinised with a fine toothcomb as he will take on the responsibility of balancing economic growth and inflation.

The New Man In

Malhotra, a 1990-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Rajasthan cadre, earned his Engineering degree in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur.

He also has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Princeton University.

Malhotra has worked in a number of sectors including power, finance and taxation, information technology, and mines.

As Secretary (Revenue) in the Ministry of Finance he came into focus for bumping up revenue collections. In April 2024, GST collections alone reached a record high of Rs 2.10 lakh crore, a 12.4 per cent increase year-on-year.

Before this, he held the post of Secretary in Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Das's Tenure

Das, who also came from the finance ministry took over as the central bank's top boss in December 2018.

He was named the central banker of the year two times in a row by US-based Global Finance magazine. Das was awarded an A+ grade in the Central Bank Report Cards 2024, for two consecutive years. The grades which vary from A to F are awarded to governors on their dexterity in managing inflation, economic growth goals, currency stability, and interest rates.

Das, was credited for ably handling a series of economic crises since the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic followed by the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict. 

Sources said that this may not be the end of the road for Das, who otherwise enjoys Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trust. Das may be awarded other roles in a few months.