Former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin appointed to RBI central board for 4 year term

Former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin, who served as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has been appointed as a part-time, non-official director on the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India for a four-year term.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment. The Reserve Bank of India Central Board oversees the general superintendence and direction of the affairs and business of the central bank.

Alongside Akbaruddin, the Central Board also inducted Annie George Mathew, former Special Secretary of Expenditure in the Ministry of Finance, and Janmejaya Kumar Sinha, Chairman of Boston Consulting Group India. These appointments combine experience across diplomacy, public finance, economic policy, and corporate strategy.


Akbaruddin, a 1985-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, brings more than three decades of experience in international affairs, diplomacy, and governance. Between 2016 and 2020, he represented India at the United Nations in New York. Prior to that diplomatic assignment, he functioned as the official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs.

"It is an honour and a privilege to serve on the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India, one of the country's premier public institutions," Akbaruddin said.

"I am grateful for the trust placed in me," he added. "I look forward to contributing, with humility and diligence, to its deliberations in the service of India's economy and people."

Since 2021, Akbaruddin has served as Dean of the Kautilya School of Public Policy at GITAM University. In that position, he has worked on establishing an academic platform designed to train professionals to handle complex public policy issues.

His induction brings background in multilateral affairs, foreign policy, and administrative governance to the central bank's governing body. The board faces discussions that link domestic monetary matters with international trade shifts, global economic developments, and geopolitical factors.

In his designated role as a part-time, non-official director, Akbaruddin will take part in the board's policy discussions and institutional governance, applying his background in global affairs and public administration.