Urjit Patel begins new role as IMF Executive Director for India

The government of India has approved the appointment of former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Dr Urjit Patel as India’s Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a three-year term.

The decision comes after the premature termination of Krishnamurthy V Subramanian’s tenure, which ended around six months before completion.

Dr Patel, widely regarded as a key architect of India’s inflation-targeting framework, brings decades of experience in economic policy and financial governance.

A Kenyan-born Indian economist, he began his career with the IMF more than 30 years ago, working in Washington DC before moving to New Delhi in 1992 as the Fund’s deputy resident representative.

Patel later served as a consultant to India’s Ministry of Finance between 1998 and 2001 and went on to hold senior roles in both the public and private sectors, including positions at Reliance Industries, IDFC Ltd, MCX Ltd and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation.

In 2016, Patel became the 24th governor of the RBI, succeeding Raghuram Rajan. He was previously the central bank’s deputy governor, overseeing monetary policy, research, statistics, deposit insurance, and communication.

In December 2018, he became the first RBI governor in decades to resign before completing his term, citing personal reasons.

An alumnus of Yale University, the University of Oxford, and the University of London, Patel is expected to bring deep expertise and institutional experience to his new role at the IMF.