RBI Governor’s and their tenure
Few personalities are so close yet so distant to India’s populace as the Governor of the Reserve Bank and few evocative of his awe and mystique: close, because virtually every individual, be he ever so poor or so rich, carries on his person the promise and signature of the Governor. Distant because central bankers are traditionally conservative and publicity shy. Awe they command as the custodian of the country’s reserves and defenders of the external value of the currency. And, mystique they possess as purveyors of money, the commodity all desire but so few understand.
Behind the mist, and shorn of the public perception, the personality of the governor assumes importance in a specific context, the governor, more than any public or private functionary in the country, has the mandate of securing the monetary stability of the country. This impinges on the day to day life of ordinary citizens.
| SL NO | Name | Tenure |
| 1 |
Sir Osborne Smith |
01-04-1935 to 30-06-1937 |
| 2 |
Sir James Braid Taylor |
01-07-1937 to 17-02-1943 |
| 3 |
Sir Chintaman Dwarkanath Deshmukh (C D Deshmukh) |
11-08-1943 to 30-06-1949 |
| 4 |
Sir Benegal Rama Rau |
01-07-1949 to 14-01-1957 |
| 5 |
K. G. Ambegaokar |
14-01-1957 to 28-02-1957 |
| 6 |
H V R Iengar |
01-03-1957 to 28-02-1962 |
| 7 |
P C Bhattacharya |
01-03-1962 to 30-06-1967 |
| 8 |
L K Jha |
01-07-1967 to 03-05-1970 |
| 9 |
B N Adarkar |
04-05-1970 to 15-06-1970 |
| 10 |
S Jagannathan |
16-06-1970 to 19-05-1975 |
| 11 |
N C Sen Gupta |
19-05-1975 to 19-08-1975 |
| 12 |
K R Puri |
20-08-1975 to 02-05-1977 |
| 13 |
M Narasimham |
02-05-1977 to 30-11-1977 |
| 14 |
Dr. I G Patel |
01-12-1977 to 15-09-1982 |
| 15 |
Dr Manmohan Singh |
16-09-1982 to 14-01-1985 |
| 16 |
A Ghosh |
15-01-1985 to 04-02-1985 |
| 17 |
R.N. Malhotra |
04-02-1985 to 22-12-1990 |
| 18 |
S Venkitaramanan |
22-12-1990 to 21-12-1992 |
| 19 |
Dr. C Rangarajan |
22-12-1992 to 21-11-1997 |
| 20 |
Dr. Bimal Jalan |
22-11-1997 to 06-09-2003 |
| 21 |
Dr. Yaga Venugopal Reddy |
06-09-2003 to 05-09-2008 |
| 22 |
Dr. D. Subbarao |
05-09-2008 to 04-09-13 |
| 23 | 04-09-2013 to ———– |