Raghuram Govind Rajan (born 3 February 1963), former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, an Indian economist and the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Between 2003 and 2006 he was Chief Economist and director of research at the International Monetary Fund.
He was the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from September 2013 through September 2016.
Recognitions
Rajan was awarded the first Fischer Black Prize in 2003. This award is granted by the American Finance Association every two years to the financial economist under the age of 40 who has made the greatest contribution to the theory and practise of finance.
In 2010, The Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year was awarded to his book, Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the Global Economy.
The Times included him on its list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2016.
During his tenure, he implemented several key economic reforms, including:
~ Stabilization of Inflation: Rajan implemented a monetary policy framework aimed at controlling inflation by setting an inflation target for the central bank. He was successful in bringing down the inflation rate from over 9% in 2013 to around 5% in 2016.
~ Clean-up of banks' balance sheets: Rajan initiated a process to clean up the balance sheets of public sector banks, which were burdened with high levels of non-performing assets (NPAs).
~ Strengthening the monetary policy framework: Rajan took steps to improve the transparency and credibility of the monetary policy framework by introducing a new monetary policy framework agreement with the government.
~ Strengthening of the Rupee: Rajan strengthened the value of the Rupee by reducing its volatility and increasing foreign exchange reserves.
~ Reforms in the financial sector: Rajan introduced measures to deepen the financial sector, promote financial inclusion, and enhance the efficiency of payment and settlement systems. He launched several initiatives such as Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, aimed at providing banking services to the unbanked population.
Awards
~ In 2003, Rajan won the inaugural Fischer Black Prize awarded by the American Finance Association for contributions to the theory and practice of finance by an economist under age 40.
~ In February 2010, NASSCOM named him Global Indian at its 7th annual global leadership awards.
~ In 2010, he was awarded the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award, Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy.
~ In November 2011, he received the Infosys Prize for Social Sciences – Economics for his work in analyzing the contribution of financial development to economic growth, as well as the potentially harmful effects of dysfunctional incentives that lead to excessive risk-taking.
~ In 2013, he was awarded the fifth Deutsche Bank Prize in Financial Economics for his "ground-breaking research work which influenced financial and macro-economic policies around the world".
~ In 2014, he was conferred with the "Governor of the Year Award 2014" from London-based financial journal Central Banking.
~ In March 2019, he was awarded "Yashwantrao Chavan National Award 2018" for his contribution to economic development.
