Shaktikanta Das, the current Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has been named Governor of the Year for the Asia-Pacific region by Central Banking, a global central banking forum. The award recognizes Das’s outstanding leadership and contributions to the Indian economy during his tenure as RBI governor.
Shaktikanta Das has been credited with implementing a range of policies aimed at stabilizing the Indian economy and supporting growth. These include measures to improve the availability of credit, strengthen the banking sector, and manage inflation. It is worth noting that Shaktikanta Das is a seasoned bureaucrat with over 37 years of experience in various positions in the Indian government, including as the Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs and the Revenue Secretary. He was appointed as the RBI Governor in December 2018.
This comes as a snub to the likes of Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu, PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, who is known for making personal remarks against anyone he disagrees with.
Two minute silence for detractors who said MA History grad can’t handle the RBI role https://t.co/cQOeadyiFy
— Chandra R. Srikanth (@chandrarsrikant) March 16, 2023
In a tweet he made in 2019, he made fun of the decision to select an ex-IAS (Shaktikanta Das) with a degree in history over someone with a Ph.D. in economics.
Hmm..
Stack RBI board w/ some who have no rudimentary “book knowledge” of Economics
Replace Ph.D. (Economics) from esteemed University with pliant ex-IAS M.A (History) as Governor
Change $ accounting policy to raid reserves at will
Wonder why many find RBI’s Gold “MTM” murky? https://t.co/GuUzK4i1MC
— Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR) (@ptrmadurai) October 27, 2019
In another tweet in 2020, he ridiculed the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shaktikanta Das, once again for his educational qualifications amidst the Covid crisis, that someone with “an MA History may not be the ideal RBI Governor”.
Hmm..it’s almost as if, in a country of ~1.4 Bn people, where growth had slid 9 qtrs in a row pre-COVID19, & the worst Pandemic in 100 yrs caused worst economic crash in the WORLD, & India’s history..
Going out on a limb here..
an M.A (History) MIGHT not be IDEAL RBI Governor🤔 https://t.co/yeY18aTv89
— Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR) (@ptrmadurai) November 18, 2020
The Finance Minister’s statement sparked a debate on social media, with many criticizing him for his remarks.
PTR has a very long history of being a rabble-rouser on Twitter and blocking anyone who questions his double standards left, right, and centre.
Even recently, PTR hounded a female journalist, Sandhya Ravishankar on Twitter on the migrant workers’ issue, and against The Hindu Publishing Group’s Chairperson Malini Parthasarathy who had tweeted about Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi’s clarification on the Tamil Nadu versus Thamizhagam debate.
He had also made derogatory remarks about business news journalist Chandra R Srikanth, targeting her based on her caste identity.
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