Ex-RBI governor named vice president of AIIB

Senior RBI governor Urjit Patel was named vice president for investment operations in South Asia at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing on Tuesday, succeeding D J Pandian, a former Gujarat administrator. Patel’s appointment will take effect on February 1, according to a statement from the AIIB.

He takes over from D Jagatheesa Pandian, a Gujarat cadre IAS official who served as the state’s chief secretary for six years. When Gujarat’s chief minister, Narendra Modi, was in office, he was the head of the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC).

“AIIB’s Board of Directors has appointed Dr Urjit Patel to the position of Vice President for Investment Operations Region 1 – South Asia, the Pacific Islands and South-East Asia,” the statement said.

Patel, 58, became the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 24th governor on September 5, 2016, following Raghuram Rajan. In December 2018, Patel abruptly resigned, claiming “personal reasons.”

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international development bank that aspires to improve Asia’s economic and social outcomes. The bank now has 104 members, with 17 new members on the way from all across the world.