New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das assumed charge as second Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, a post created for the first time, on Monday.
His appointment will continue for the duration of the Prime Minister’s tenure or until further orders.
He is the second IAS officer from Odisha to serve as the Principal Secretary in the PMO after P K Mishra, who continues to serve in the post since 2019. This is the first time that two persons will simultaneously serve as principal secretaries to the PM.
Mishra, the 1971-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, had a close association with PM Modi that goes decades back when he served as principal secretary to the then-CM Modi.
The appointment of Das, who is a 1980-batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, assumes significance with India aiming to become the third largest global economy by 2030. He has experience of working in both monetary policy (controlled by the central bank) and fiscal policy (laid out by the government).
Das has held important positions in the central and state governments in finance, taxation, industries, infrastructure and other sectors. He was involved in negotiations for the USD 22 billion IMF bailout package in 1991.
He was the Economic Affairs secretary in 2016 when the Modi government announced the demonetisation and played a key role in the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, which replaced multiple indirect taxes. Following his retirement, he was appointed as a member of the 15th Finance Commission and G20 Sherpa of India in Hamburg and Buenos Aires.
Das is the second longest serving RBI Governor after Benegal Rama Rau, who had a seven-and-a-half-year tenure in the 1950s. He was initially appointed to the post in 2018 for three years and his tenure was later extended till December 2024.
He is credited with navigating the RBI’s economic policies through the Covid pandemic. He spearheaded a series of measures to support growth and strengthen India’s financial stability, while addressing the liquidity crunch in the non-banking financial sector.
Besides the successful tenure as RBI Governor, Das is reputed to be honest with high level of integrity and efficiency.
