The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India is regarded as the CEO of the Central Bank of India and the Ex-officio Chairman of the Central Board of Directors. 

A vital role was played by the different Governors of the Reserve bank of India in the growth and development of the nation’s economy. They are nominated and appointed by the government of India for a duration. 

The first-ever Governor of the Reserve Bank of India was Sir Osborne Smith. He gained a lot of recognition because of his work for the government. 

Overview 

Many personalities in India have created a mark in Indian history through their virtue, and the Governor of the Reserve Bank is one of those. They played an important role as the caretaker of the nation’s corpus and acted as defenders of the currency’s external value. 

In India, there have been 25 Governors of the Reserve Bank of India. Following is the list, which consists of the names of all the Governors of the Reserve Bank of India: 

  1. Sir Osborne Smith

  2. Sir James Taylor

  3. Sir C D Deshmukh

  4. Sir Benegal Rama Rau

  5. Mr. K G Ambegaonkar

  6. Mr. H V R Iyengar

  7. Mr. P C Bhattacharya

  8. Mr. L K Jha

  9. Mr. B N Adarkar

  10. Mr. S Jagannathan

  11. Mr. N C Sen Gupta

  12. Mr. K R Puri

  13. Mr. M Narasimham

  14. Dr I G Patel

  15. Dr Manmohan Singh

  16. Mr. A Ghosh

  17. R N Malhotra

  18. S Venkitaramanan

  19. Dr C Rangarajan

  20. Dr Bimal Jalan

  21. Dr Y V Reddy

  22. Dr D. Subbarao

  23. Dr Raghuram Rajan

  24. Dr Urjit R. Patel

  25. Shri Shaktikanta Das

Brief about some of them are mentioned below: 

  • Sir Osborne Smith

He was first-ever Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He was an experienced and proficient banker and worked in the Bank of New South Wales for 20 years and with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for 10 years. After returning to India, he joined the Imperial Bank of India as the Managing Governor. He gained a lot of recognition through his stewardship in the Imperial Bank. 

  • Sir James Taylor

He was one of the members of the Imperial Civil Service and worked for the Government of India for more than a decade with different designations such as Deputy Controller, and Secretary in the Ministries. Before joining as the Governor, he joined the Reserve Bank of India as Deputy Governor. 

  • Sir C D Deshmukh

He was a member of the Imperial Civil Service and the first Indian who became the Governor. He started his journey in 1939 with the position of Government Liaison Officer. In 1941, he joined the bank as Deputy Governor. He joined as Governor after James Taylor in August 1943. He also represented India at the Bretton Woods negotiations in 1944 and observed the change that happened after Independence and partition of the nation and division of assets and liabilities of the bank between India and Pakistan.

  • Sir Benegal Rama Rau

He was a member of the Indian Civil Service and served for many years in the nation. He also represented India to the United States as an Indian Ambassador.

  • K G Ambegaonkar

Before joining the bank, he worked as Finance Secretary. He joined as interim Governor after B. Rama Rau. 

  • H V R Iyengar

He was a member of the Indian Civil Service and Chairman of the State Bank of India. After that, he joined the Reserve Bank as Governor. He created a mark in strengthening the banking industry. 

  • P C Bhattacharya

He was a member of the Indian Audit and Account Service. He joined the Finance Ministry as Secretary and then became the Chairman of the State Bank and after that, he was appointed as the Governor of the bank. He was responsible for the changes in the Industrial Development Bank of India and Agricultural Refinance Corporation and the Unit Trust of India.

  • L K Jha

He was a member of the Indian Civil Service, he was also the Secretary to the Prime Minister before he was appointed Governor. During his cycle of operation, the National Credit Council was launched. 

  • B N Adarkar

He joined the Reserve Bank of India as an interim Governor. He was a proficient economist and performed many roles in the office of the Economic Adviser of the Government of India. He played a vital role in the set-up of the National Institute of Bank Management.

  • S Jagannathan

He was one of the members of the Indian Civil Service. Before joining as the Governor, he worked in the Central Government and as Executive Director at the World Bank. During his work of operation, a lot of monetary policy changes happened. 

  • N C Sen Gupta

He joined as Governor for three months only. Before joining the bank, he worked in the Department of Banking of the Ministry of Finance as Secretary. 

  • K R Puri

He joined Life Insurance Corporation of India as the Chairman, after that, he became the Governor. During his time of operation, Regional Rural Banks were established; the Asian Clearing Union was initiated; a twenty point economic programme was proclaimed and a money supply system was introduced. 

Conclusion 

Therefore, the role of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India is very significant and supports the economy of the nation, both directly as well as indirectly. They are nominated and appointed by the government of India for a duration. He or she also signs on the Indian note published by the Reserve Bank of India. In India, between 1935-2021, there have been a total number of 25 Governors. Some of the most recognised Governors of them are, Sir Osborne Smith, Ms Shaktikanta Das, etc. They provided support to the economy through various strategies and strengthened the whole system.