Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India and the Finance Ministry have been on “best terms with excellent coordination and cooperation” over the last six years, outgoing RBI Governor, Shaktikanta Das, said in his farewell address on Tuesday.
He said, “The perspectives of the central bank and the Finance Ministry may differ at certain times but I believe in my tenure we have been able to settle such things.”
Das said restoring a balance between inflation and growth in the economy remains an important task for the Reserve Bank.
Governors keep in mind the needs of the broader economy when deciding on things and eventually, it is a judgment call every time, he added.
Das also highlighted the wide-ranging ‘consultative approach’ and the emphasis on the need for financial inclusion during his 6-year tenure.
During his tenure, Shaktikanta Das launched several innovative products involving the UPI, which he said has emerged as a ‘pioneer’ in the global payments system. He added that he will be closely watching the pan-India rollout of the Unified Lending Interface, a digital platform to streamline and speed up the loan approval process. The ULI is expected to help borrowers avail credit while ensuring that lenders process customer information with ease.
He said that the supervisory methods of the central bank have ‘significantly improved’ and are ‘much sharper’ now.
“We have given a lot of attention to cyber security. That is a continuing task. It will be a continuing challenge for every central bank including RBI,” Shaktikanta Das said during the interaction with journalists in RBI headquarters in Mumbai on his final day at office.
In a string of posts on X, he expressed gratitude for support from the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, and stakeholders in the financial sector.
“Will demit office as Governor RBI later today. Thank you, everyone, for your support and good wishes,” Das wrote on the social media site.
The government has appointed senior bureaucrat Sanjay Malhotra as the next governor of the RBI who took charge of the central bank on Tuesday. Malhotra is an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1990 batch from the Rajasthan cadre. His latest posting was as Revenue Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.
(IANS)
