Urjit Patel, who took over as the RBI governor after Raghuram Rajan’s tenure ended in 2016, announced his resignation in a statement published on the RBI’s website on Monday, 10 December.
As reactions of concern poured in from politicians and intellectuals across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley responded to the resignation on Twitter.
Urjit Patel cited personal reasons and wrote that his resignation would be effective immediately. His term was to end in September 2019. This makes Patel the first governor since 1990 to step down before the end of his term, reports Ira Dugal for the BloombergQuint.
Modi praised Patel, calling him “a thorough professional with impeccable integrity.” He also wrote that Patel’s leadership helped the RBI bring financial stability.
Echoing Modi’s tone. Jaitley’s tweet expressed appreciation for the services rendered by Patel. Jaitley wished him “all the very best and many more years of public service.”
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