India on Saturday appointed its former central bank chief Shaktikanta Das as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s principal secretary, according to a government notice.
The appointment comes after Das finished his second term at the helm of the Reserve Bank of India in December last year, where he oversaw monetary policy, debt and forex markets, along with financial sector regulation for six years.
Das, a former bureaucrat, became the first non-economist in nearly three decades to head India’s central bank in 2018.
A government notification on Saturday announced that Das’s appointment would be co-terminus with the term of Prime Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shaktikanta Das, IAS (Retired) as Principal Secretary-2 to Prime Minister with effect from the date he assumes the office,” the notification read.
Das will be the second principal secretary. At present, former IAS officer P.K. Mishra is serving as the first principal secretary to the Prime Minister since September 11, 2019.
During his tenure as economic affairs secretary in 2016, the Modi government had announced the demonetisation drive.
Das had defended the government’s decision at that time, explaining notifications and frequent changes in rules on demonetisation to the general public. Das was said to have worked closely with the RBI in execution of the demonetisation drive.
He was also instrumental in the implementation of GST.
Das’s appointment as the RBI governor in 2018 came at a time a disagreement was evident between the central bank and the government as his predecessors Urjit Patel and Raghuram Rajan both had quit citing personal reasons.
Das, a postgraduate from Delhi’s St. Stephen’s College, assumed charge as the 25th governor of the RBI from December 12, 2018.
He served the post for six years till December 2024. He also served as a member of 15th Finance Commission and G20 Sherpa and held important positions in the central and state governments in the areas of finance and taxation.