Former Reserve Bank Governor Urjit Patel named NIPFP chairman

New Delhi: Former Reserve Bank governor Urjit Patel will take charge as chairman of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) from June 22, the economic think tank said on Friday. Patel will replace Vijay Kelkar, who assumed office on November 1, 2014.

“National Institute of Public Finance and Policy is privileged to have Dr Urjit Patel, former Reserve Bank Governor, as its Chairperson for a four-year term commencing June 22, 2020,” the economic think tank said in a statement.

“NIPFP records its deep sense of appreciation and gratitude for the significant contributions made by the outgoing Chairman, Dr Vijay Laxman Kelkar during his tenure which has immensely helped the institute towards scaling to its present level of growth and effectiveness,” it added.

Patel on December 10, 2018, had unexpectedly resigned months before the end of his three-year term in September 2019. He, who was the first governor since 1990 to step down before his term ends, had in a brief statement had cited “personal reasons” for the decision. 

Patel was eligible for a second term like most of his successors barring a few like his outspoken predecessor Raghuram Rajan.

From being considered a government’s man on the Mint Street, Patel had in less than two years had emerged from the shadows to find his own voice on issues that mattered the most – autonomy and independence of the central bank.

Hailing from a business family based in Nairobi, Patel, who studied at London School of Economics, Oxford University and Yale University, was a Kenyan national until 2013. He acquired Indian citizenship before he was appointed RBI deputy governor in January 2013.