Who Is Sanjay Malhotra? The 26th Governor Of The Reserve Bank Of India

Sanjay Malhotra, The 26th Governor Of RBI

The Reserve Bank of India has a new governor in the form of Sanjay Malhotra. Sanjay Malhotra is the current head or the secretary of the revenue department of the Government of India. He reported to the finance minister of the country Nirmala Sitharaman.

From IIT To Ivy League

Like Das, Malhotra is also and IAS officer. He is from Indian Administrative Service Officer of 1990 Batch Rajasthan Cadre.

Before joining the civil services, Malhotra graduated with an Engineering degree in the field of Computer Science or CS, from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur.

He later changed course and pursed his Masters in Public Policy, from another renowned institution, Princeton University in the US.

Three Decades Of Public Service

Malhotra is a career bureaucrat, as he had completed over 30 years in service, entering his 35th in 2025.

Before arriving at the Revenue Department, Malhotra has also handled work in other departments including power, finance and taxation, information technology, mines.

Sanjay Malhotra is a veteran of the circles, as he has also contributed as the Secretary in Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance.

In addition, apart from departmental duties, Malhotra has also headed the public-run REC Ltd. REC formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited.

He has been at the helm of the revenue department since 2022 when he took over from Tarun Bajaj.

Shaktikanta Das' Succesor

Malhotra's appointment comes to fore after myriad speculations, that indicated another extension to Shaktikanta Das. Das was at the helm of the top body for 6 years, after serving two-consecutive terms since 2018.

In fact, it was 3 days ago that Das delivered his address post the 52nd Monetary Policy Committee meeting that was held between December 4-6.

Malhotra will take the office in Mumbai from December 11, a day after Shaktikanta Das's tenure concludes, on December 10.

Challenges Ahead

In the time to come, Malhotra will have myriad challenges in his hand. He takes control of the office at a time, when the country is in the middle of a once-in-a-7-quarter decline in GDP growth. India's GDP growth slumped to 5.4 per cent in the second quarter of FY25.

In addition, another major concern that comes directly under the purview of the RBI, is the rate of inflation. India's inflation rate, measured through the consumer price index, jumped to 6.2 per cent, much higher than RBI's own threshold of 4 per cent.

The RBI will hold its next Monetary Policy Commitee (MPC) Meeting between February 5-7. Many are anticipating a rate cut under the new governor, as the central bank enters a new era under Sanjay Malhotra's stewardship.