Govt extends RBI deputy governor Michael Patra's tenure by one year

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the re-appointment of Michael Patra as Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, for a period of one year with effect from January 15, 2024.

With Patra being a member of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee, his re-appointment signals continuity in the central bank’s policymaking.

Patra, who first took over as Deputy Governor in January 2020, had received a one-year extension in January 2023 after this initial three-year term ended.


A career central banker since 1985, Patra looks after the monetary policy department, financial markets operations department, financial markets regulation department, financial stability department and the department of economic and policy research among others.

The MPC – which is the rate-setting panel of the RBI – has raised interest rates by 250 basis points from May 2022 to February 2023 in order to rein in inflation amid global supply chain shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Russia-Ukraine war.

The central bank has also taken steps to drain the banking system of the large quantum of liquidity that was pumped in during 2020-21 in order to keep borrowing costs low and shield the economy from the COVID crisis.

While inflation has eased from the highs touched in 2022, the price gauge still remains well above the RBI’s 4% target. India’s economic growth, however, has surpassed expectations amid a weak global growth outlook.