Raghuram Rajan (Former Governor of RBI) Wiki, Career & More

Raghuram Rajan is an Indian economist and a former governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He served as the governor of the RBI from September 2013 to September 2016. He is currently a professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is also a visiting professor at the Indian School of Business.

Rajan is known for his work on banking, corporate finance, and economic development. He is also a recipient of numerous awards and honors for his contributions to the field of economics, including the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year award for his book “Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy.”

Raghuram Rajan Career

Raghuram Rajan is an Indian economist and academic who has had a successful career in both academia and public service.

He began his career as an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1991. He later moved to the University of Chicago, where he was a professor of finance from 1991 to 2003. During this time, he published several influential research papers on banking, corporate finance, and economic development.

In 2003, Rajan joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the chief economist and director of research. He was responsible for overseeing the research activities of the IMF and providing advice to the organization’s leadership.

In September 2013, Rajan was appointed as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), where he served until September 2016. During his tenure, he implemented several monetary policy measures to curb inflation and stabilize the Indian economy.

After his tenure at the RBI, Rajan returned to academia and is currently a professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and also a visiting professor at the Indian School of Business. He is also a contributor to the public policy dialogue through his writings, speeches and interviews.

In addition to his academic and professional accomplishments, Rajan has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to the field of economics, including the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year award for his book “Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy.”

Education

Raghuram Rajan is a highly educated individual with a variety of degrees and qualifications. He completed his undergraduate studies at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, where he earned a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electrical Engineering. He then went on to earn a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

He then pursued his higher education in the United States, where he earned a Ph.D. in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1991. His thesis was titled “Essays on Banking.”

Rajan also holds honorary doctorates from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Early life

Raghuram Rajan was born on February 3, 1963, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. He is the third of four children born to R Govindarajan, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and his mother was a housewife.

Rajan grew up in a family that placed a strong emphasis on education, and he excelled academically from a young age. He completed his early education in various towns of India where his father was posted as an IAS officer.

Contribution at Reserve Bank of India

Raghuram Rajan made significant contributions during his tenure as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from September 2013 to September 2016. Some of his key contributions include:

1. Monetary policy: Rajan implemented several monetary policy measures to curb inflation and stabilize the Indian economy. He introduced a new inflation targeting framework that set a target of 4% inflation with a 2% tolerance range on either side. He also introduced several measures to improve the transmission of monetary policy, such as the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) system.
2. Financial inclusion: Rajan initiated several measures to promote financial inclusion in India, such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), which aimed to provide banking services to millions of unbanked households in India.
3. Clean-up of bank balance sheets: Rajan initiated the Asset Quality Review (AQR) of banks, which aimed to identify and resolve the problem of stressed assets in the banking sector. The AQR helped to improve the transparency and accountability of banks and set the stage for the resolution of bad loans.
4. Currency management: Rajan took several measures to improve the management of the Indian rupee, such as liberalizing the foreign exchange market and introducing the use of market-determined exchange rate.
5. Financial stability: Rajan introduced several measures to improve the stability of the financial sector, such as setting up the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) to coordinate the efforts of regulatory and supervisory agencies, and introducing new regulations for the management of systemic risks in the financial sector.

Interesting Facts About Raghuram Rajan

1. Raghuram Rajan is one of the youngest individuals to have been appointed as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), taking the role at the age of 50.
2. Rajan was the chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2003 to 2007. He had warned of the potential global financial crisis several years before it happened, but his warning was ignored by many.
3. Rajan is the first non-westerner to be appointed as the chief economist at the IMF.
4. Rajan has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to the field of economics, including the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year award for his book “Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy.”
5. Rajan is an avid cricket fan and has written a book “Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists” co-authored by Luigi Zingales, a close friend, and colleague of his, where they explore the role of capitalism in the global economy and the importance of economic and political reforms.
6. Rajan is also a visiting professor at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, India, where he teaches a course on the Indian Economy and its Development.
7. Rajan is known for his ability to explain complex economic concepts in simple language, making him a popular public speaker.
8. Rajan has also been listed in the Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in the world twice in 2010 and 2011.

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