RBI appoints ex-diplomat Akbaruddin, two others to central board

The central government has appointed former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin, retired bureaucrat Annie George Mathew and Janmejaya Kumar Sinha, chairman of Boston Consulting Group India, as part-time non-official directors on the RBI's Central Board. The three appointments are effective from August 24 and will run for four years or until further notice, whichever comes first, the central bank announced on Monday.

The appointments expand the board's composition with representation from India's diplomatic corps, civil service and private sector. Akbaruddin brings experience from his tenure as India's permanent representative to the United Nations, while Mathew previously served in senior administrative roles within the government. Sinha brings corporate and management consulting expertise from his position at BCG India.

These appointments follow the recent reappointment of industrialist Anand Gopal Mahindra as a part-time non-official director and the induction of former ISRO Chairman Somanath Sreedhara Panicker to the board. The expanded board now includes Revathy Iyer, a retired Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer who previously served as Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General, and Sachin Chaturvedi, director general of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries think tank. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra heads the 18-member board.