# List of governors of the Reserve Bank of India

The governor of the Reserve Bank of India is the chief executive officer of India's central bank and the ex-officio chair of its Central Board of Directors. Initially it was below the cabinet secretary rank but currently it an equivalent rank to cabinet secretary. Indian Rupee currency notes, issued by the Reserve Bank of India, bear the governor's signature. Since its establishment in 1935 by the government of the Republic of India, the RBI has been headed by twenty-six governors. The governor of the Reserve Bank of India is a member of the Strategic Policy Group headed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. It is a crucial wing of the National Security Council.
The inaugural officeholder was the British banker Sir Osborne Smith, while Sir C. D. Deshmukh was the first native Indian governor. Holding office for over seven years, Sir Benegal Rama Rau was the longest-serving governor, while Amitav Ghosh's 20-day term is the shortest. The bank's fifteenth governor, Manmohan Singh, later became India's thirteenth prime minister. Sanjay Malhotra is the twenty-sixth governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 11 December 2024.

## List of governors

List of governors of the Reserve Bank of India :
| No. | Governor | Term | Length of tenure | Notes |
| 1 | Sir Osborne Smith | 1 April 1935 — 30 June 1937 | 2 years, 90 days | Smith was a British banker who served as the managing governor of the Imperial Bank of India prior to becoming the governor. He resigned the governorship before the completion of the term. |
| 2 | Sir James Braid Taylor | 1 July 1937 — 17 February 1943 | 5 years, 231 days | Taylor was an Indian Civil Services officer who served as the controller of the currency and the deputy governor pf RBI prior to becoming the governor. He died while in office. |
| 3 | Sir C. D. Deshmukh | 11 August 1943 — 30 June 1949 | 5 years, 323 days | Deshmukh was an Indian Civil Services officer who served as the deputy governor of RBI prior to becoming the governor. He was the first Indian to serve as the governor. His governorship oversaw the partition of India as the subsequent division of assets and liabilities between India and Pakistan. |
| 4 | Sir Benegal Rama Rau | 1 July 1949 — 14 January 1957 | 7 years, 197 days | Rau was an Indian Civil Services officer who served as the Indian ambassador to the United States prior to becoming the governor. He resigned the governorship before the completion of his second extended term. |
| 5 | K. G. Ambegaonkar | 14 January 1957 — 28 February 1957 | 45 days | Ambegaokar was an Indian Civil Services officer who served as the Finance Secretary prior to becoming the deputy governor of RBI. He was appointed as the interim governor upon the resignation of Benegal Rama Rau. |
| 6 | H. V. R. Iyengar | 1 March 1957 — 28 February 1962 | 4 years, 364 days | Iyengar was an Indian Civil Services officer who served as the chairman of the State Bank of India prior to becoming the governor. Indian coinage was shifted from earlier systems to decimal coinage during his governorship. |
| 7 | P. C. Bhattacharya | 1 March 1962 — 30 June 1967 | 5 years, 121 days | Bhattacharya was an Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer who served as the chairman of the State Bank of India prior to becoming the governor. |
| 8 | Lakshmi Kant Jha | 1 July 1967 — 3 May 1970 | 2 years, 306 days | Jha was an Indian Civil Services officer who served as the secretary to the prime minister prior to becoming the governor. He left the office upon his appointment as the Indian ambassador to the United States. |
| 9 | B. N. Adarkar | 4 May 1970 — 15 June 1970 | 42 days | Adarkar was an economist who served as the economic advisor to the government prior to becoming the deputy governor of RBI. He was appointed as the interim governor. |
| 10 | Sarukkai Jagannathan | 16 June 1970 — 19 May 1975 | 4 years, 337 days | Jagannathan was an Indian Civil Services officer who served as India's executive director of the World Bank prior to becoming the governor. He resigned the office to become the India's executive director of the International Monetary Fund. |
| 11 | N. C. Sen Gupta | 19 May 1975 — 19 August 1975 | 92 days | Gupta served as the secretary to the Department of Banking, Ministry of Finance prior to becoming the interim governor. |
| 12 | K. R. Puri | 20 August 1975 — 2 May 1977 | 1 year, 255 days | Puri served as the chairman of the Life Insurance Corporation prior to becoming the governor. His governorship oversaw the formation of various regional rural banks. |
| 13 | M. Narasimham | 3 May 1977 — 30 November 1977 | 211 days | Narasimham was a RBI research officer who served as an additional Secretary to the Department of Economic Affairs prior to becoming the governor. |
| 14 | I. G. Patel | 1 December 1977 — 15 September 1982 | 4 years, 288 days | Patel was an economist who served as a secretary in the Ministry of Finance prior to becoming the governor. His governorship oversaw the demonetization of ₹5,000 and ₹10,000 value currency. |
| 15 | Manmohan Singh | 16 September 1982 — 14 January 1985 | 2 years, 120 days | Singh is an economist who served as the Finance Secretary prior to becoming the governor. His governorship oversaw various legal reforms related to banking. |
| 16 | Amitav Ghosh | 15 January 1985 — 4 February 1985 | 20 days | Ghosh was the deputy governor of RBI who was appointed as the interim governor until R. N. Malhotra assumed the office. |
| 17 | R. N. Malhotra | 4 February 1985 — 22 December 1990 | 5 years, 321 days | Malhotra was an Indian Administrative Services officer who served as executive director of the International Monetary Fund prior to becoming the governor. His governorship oversaw the inauguration of Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research. |
| 18 | S. Venkitaramanan | 22 December 1990 — 21 December 1992 | 1 year, 365 days | Venkitaramanan was an Indian Administrative Services officer who served as the Finance Secretary prior to becoming the governor. India adopted International Monetary Fund's stabilization program during his governorship. |
| 19 | C. Rangarajan | 22 December 1992 — 21 November 1997 | 4 years, 334 days | Rangarajan is an economist who served as the deputy governor of RBI prior to becoming the governor. His governorship oversaw the establishment of unified exchange rate. |
| 20 | Bimal Jalan | 22 November 1997 — 6 September 2003 | 5 years, 288 days | Jalan is an economist who served at various positions including being the chief economic adviser to the government and serving as the Finance Secretary prior to becoming the governor. His governorship oversaw less inflation and interest rates. |
| 21 | Y. Venugopal Reddy | 6 September 2003 — 5 September 2008 | 4 years, 365 days | Reddy is an Indian Administrative Services officer who served as the deputy governor of RBI prior to becoming the governor. During his governorship, he contributed in the financial sector reforms and external commercial borrowings. |
| 22 | D. Subbarao | 5 September 2008 — 4 September 2013 | 4 years, 364 days | Subbarao is an Indian Administrative Services officer who served as the Finance Secretary prior to becoming the governor. He wrote on various issues including decentralization and public finance. |
| 23 | Raghuram Rajan | 4 September 2013 — 4 September 2016 | 3 years, 0 days | Rajan is an economist who served as the chief economic advisor to the government and the chief economist of International Monetary Fund prior to becoming the governor. |
| 24 | Urjit Patel | 4 September 2016 — 10 December 2018 | 2 years, 98 days | Patel is an economist who worked with the IMF and the central government. He served as the deputy governor of RBI prior to becoming the governor. His governorship oversaw the demonetization of ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes. He later resigned citing personal reasons. |
| 25 | Shaktikanta Das | 12 December 2018 — 11 December 2024 | 5 years, 365 days | Das was an IAS officer who served as the Revenue Secretary and later Economic Affairs Secretary. He served as a Member of the 15th Finance Commission prior to becoming the governor. |
| 26 | Sanjay Malhotra | 11 December 2024 — Incumbent | 93 days | Malhotra is an IAS officer who served as the Financial Services Secretary and later Revenue Secretary of India. |