CHENNAI – S Venkitaramanan, the previous Reserve Financial institution of India (RBI) Governor who performed a pivotal function in India’s financial reforms throughout the early Nineteen Nineties, has handed away on the age of 92 after a short sickness. His management was marked by important measures that steered the nation via a extreme steadiness of funds disaster.
Venkitaramanan’s tenure as RBI Governor started in December 1990, a time when India confronted the specter of defaulting on international loans with solely $1.1 billion in reserves, barely sufficient for 2 weeks of imports. Appointed by then Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, he carried out stringent credit score limits and orchestrated gold gross sales to alleviate monetary stress ensuing from the earlier authorities’s extreme short-term borrowing.
Working intently with then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, Venkitaramanan was instrumental within the rupee devaluation efforts and embraced the Worldwide Financial Fund’s (IMF) stabilization program to navigate the nation out of financial turmoil. His governance additionally noticed decisive actions throughout the notorious Harshad Mehta rip-off, including a layer of controversy to his legacy.
Earlier than his governorship, which lasted till December 1992, Venkitaramanan served as Finance Secretary from 1985 to 1989. His contributions prolonged past monetary coverage; he supported industrial improvement and performed a big function throughout India’s Inexperienced Revolution.
The present RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das paid tribute to Venkitaramanan’s adept disaster administration abilities. Politician Jairam Ramesh additionally praised his very important help throughout a important interval in India’s agricultural sector, underscoring his enduring affect on the nation’s financial panorama.
Venkitaramanan’s passing marks the top of an period for India’s financial historical past, remembering a determine whose methods laid the groundwork for the nation’s path to liberalization and fashionable monetary insurance policies.
This text was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by an editor. For extra data see our T&C.