London: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has been honoured with the ‘Governor of the Year’ award at the Central Banking Awards 2023 in London.
The Central Banking Awards 2023 organizers have commended Governor Shaktikanta Das for his exceptional leadership skills in navigating India through a series of grave challenges during his tenure that began in 2018. The challenges included the collapse of a major non-bank firm, the first and second waves of the coronavirus pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which had an inflationary impact.
The statement also mentioned the risk of exposure and potential contagion risks linked to public sector bank loans to companies such as Adani Group, whose shares went down following the Hindenburg report. The organizers further spoke of the collapse of IL&FS, which led to a liquidity crunch and shortcomings in the business models of several banks, including Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank.
Governor Das was credited for his efforts in shepherding the bankruptcy code back into legality, pushing banks to raise more capital, restructuring the RBI to create a standalone supervision department, and establishing a College of Supervisors to train the next generation.
In addition, the organizers praised Governor Das for his calm leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and his ability to steer the central bank between intense political pressure and economic disaster. They also acknowledged his efforts in overseeing the project around UPI and pushing India to the forefront of the pack of central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The statement also mentioned Governor Das’s opposition to crypto assets in India. Former RBI governor YV Reddy was quoted as saying, ‘In my view, he has done an outstanding job in view of the extraordinary challenges he faced during the period and also the manner in which he had to negotiate the relationship with the government.’
