RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya Resigns Before Term Ends

RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya, who was in-charge of the monetary policy department, has resigned six months before the scheduled end of his term, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) confirmed on Monday.

Acharya submitted a letter a few weeks ago saying he was unable to continue his term beyond July 23 due to unavoidable personal circumstances, the RBI said in a news release.

This is the second high profile resignation in the past six month at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In December, governor Urjit Patel resigned nearly nine months before the end of his schedule term over differences with the government.

Acharya had joined the central bank on January 23 last year after Patel was elevated to the post of governor in September 2016.

The RBI is now left with three deputy governors N S Vishwanathan, BP Kanungo and MK Jain. Acharya, a New York University economics professor who once called himself the ‘poor man’s Raghuram Rajan’, was appointed for three years.

He took over at a time when the central bank was facing criticism for repeated changes in the rules related to deposit and withdrawal of money, post-demonetisation.

About Reserve Bank of India
Established:1 April 1935
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Governor: Shaktikanta Das