Urjit Patel

Urjit Patel (born 28 October 1963) is a Kenyan-born Indian economist, who served as the 24th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 2016 to 2018 and is currently serving as the Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund representing India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

He also serves as the Chairman of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, additional director of Britannia Industries and independent director of John Cockerill India.

Early life and education Urjit Patel was born in Nairobi on 28 October 1963 to Manjula and Ravindra Patel. His grandfather had migrated from Mahudha village in Kheda district, Gujarat to Kenya in the 20th century. His father ran Rexo Products Ltd, a chemical factory in Nairobi.

He studied in Nairobi at Jamhuri High School, and prior to that the Gujarati community-run Visa Oshwal Primary School. He studied at the London School of Economics for a Bachelor of Science degree in 1984. He obtained an M.Phil. degree from University of Oxford in 1986. He was conferred a Ph.D. in economics from Yale University in 1990. He was at IMF India Desk during the 1991–94 transition period. On 11 January 2013, Patel was appointed as Deputy Governor of RBI for a period of three years; he was appointed for another three-year term in January 2016

On 10 December 2018 at 17:15 hrs IST, Urjit Patel resigned from the post of Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) effective immediately.

In June 2022, Patel was appointed as the Vice President for investment-operations for the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), one of the leading multilateral banks in the world.

In August 2025 Indian Government appointed Patel as the Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund representing India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka for a three year term.

In addition, there was a view in the government that RBI's stringent policies were hurting credit growth which may affect the economic growth of the nation in the future. Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said that while he respected the RBI’s decision, there was a “plausible alternative macroeconomic assessment” and that a monetary policy easing was required for economic growth.

There was also a growing perception that Patel had boxed himself into a corner by not communicating sufficiently with stakeholders or responding to market situation.

In August 2019 Nitin Gadkari fueled the controversy when he stated that he had advised the Union Finance Minister to remove the RBI Governor because the latter was inflexible and adamant.

However, on his departure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley appreciated Patel for his work in RBI.

Important positions

Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Washington D. C. (2009-2012) Advisor, Boston Consulting Group President (Business Development), Reliance Industries (2007-2011) Executive Director, Infrastructure Development Finance Company (1997-2006) Member, Integrated Energy Policy Committee, Government of India (2004-2006) Non-Executive Director, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Non-Executive Director, Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India (11 January 2013 - 3 September 2016) Governor, Reserve Bank of India (4 September 2016 - 10 December 2018) Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund representing India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. (2025-2028)

Awards Recipient of the Wilbur Cross Medal, Yale University, October 2019. Citation from Dean's letter: "This award not only recognizes your work as the twenty-fourth Governor of The Reserve Bank of India, it is a testament to your achievements in public service and your many contributions to scholarship". Elected Honorary Fellow, University of Oxford 2019.