The government has named Urjit Patel as Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), nearly four months after it terminated the term of Krishnamurthy Subramanian six months before it was supposed to end.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Dr. Urjit Patel, Economist and Former RBI Governor, to the post of Executive Director (ED) at the International Monetary Fund, for a period of three years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” a government notification dated August 28 said.

Patel, who served as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from September 4, 2016 to December 11, 2018, will fill the position that has been lying vacant since April 30 following the removal of Krishnamurthy Subramanian, a former chief economic advisor to the finance ministry. The Indian Express had reported in April that Subramanian’s term had ended early due to “alleged impropriety” relating to the promotion of his new book, with sources saying there were reports of alleged violation of some “internal IMF protocols.”
As an executive director at the IMF, Patel will be a member on the multilateral agency’s executive board, which discusses the national, regional, and global consequences of each member’s economic policies and approves financing to help member-countries address temporary balance of payments problems, as well as overseeing the Fund’s capacity development efforts.

Patel is currently serving as chairman of New Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. He assumed charge in June 2020.

Return to policy circles
Patel’s appointment as India’s ED at the IMF comes almost seven years after his surprise resignation as governor of the RBI in December 2018, citing personal reasons, amid a particularly fractious few months that saw the relationship between the government and the central bank break down dramatically.