Shaktikanta Das named ‘Governor of the Year’ at London Central Banking Awards 2023

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das has received the 'Governor of the Year' award at London's Central Banking Awards 2023.

Das has been awarded for his pivotal role in implementing critical reforms, driving world-leading payment innovations, and steering India through challenging times with exceptional leadership skills.

Das was recommended for the award by London-based international economic research journal Central Banking in March 2023.

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Assuming the position of RBI governor in December 2018, Das faced a challenging situation as one of India's major Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) went bankrupt, triggering a liquidity crunch. This event exposed significant flaws in the business models of several mid-sized banks that heavily relied on NBFCs. Subsequently, other banks, including Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank, also faced collapse.

The award statement said that Das' tenure "has been marked by a series of grave challenges, starting with the collapse of a major non-banking firm, moving through the first and second waves of the coronavirus, and then, in 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its inflationary impact."

The organizers highlighted Das's significant accomplishments, including the resolution of collapsed non-bank financial companies and the steady improvement of the banking sector, which had hindered India's growth for an extended period.

Das is the second Central Bank governor to receive this prestigious award, following Raghuram Rajan, who won the title in 2015.

In addition to successfully addressing India's banking crisis, the statement lauded Das for effectively managing India's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and for skillfully tackling the inflationary impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.