S. Venkitaramanan

Sri Venkitaramanan was the eighteenth Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He served for a period of 2 years, from 1990 to 1992.[2] Earlier, he served as Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, from 1985 to 1989.[3]

Sri Venkitaramanan
18th Governor of Reserve Bank of India
In office
22 December 1990 – 21 December 1992
Preceded byR. N. Malhotra
Succeeded byC. Rangarajan
Personal details
Born(1931-01-28)28 January 1931[1]
Nagercoil, Padmanabhapuram division, Travancore State
NationalityIndian
Alma materGovernment Model Boys Higher Secondary School Attingal, University College Thiruvananthapuram, Carnegie Mellon University

Venkitaramanan is seen by many as a brilliant crisis manager of the balance of payments crisis in India in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[4][5] His timely and decisive action laid the ground work for India salvaging the crisis, at a time when India's foreign-exchange reserves had almost depleted.[4][5]

Early life and background

Venkitaramanan was born at the town of Nagercoil in Padmanathapuram division of the princely-state of Travancore, to a Tamil Iyer family.[6]

He completed his master's degree in physics from University College Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala[7] and also earned a master's degree in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA.[8]

IAS

Venkitaramanan was a member of the Indian Administrative Service.[9] He was posted with the Government of India and with the state of Tamilnadu at various times. He also served the Government of Karnataka as adviser.[10]

Finance Secretary

He served as Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India for a period of four years from 1985 to 1989.[8]

Governor of Reserve Bank

Venkitaramanan served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 22 December 1990 to 21 December 1992.[11] At the time of his appointment as RBI Governor, India was in the midst of a balance of payments crisis, with fast-depleting foreign exchange reserves.[11] His decisive actions helped India tide over the crisis.[5][4][11] During his tenure as RBI Governor, the infamous Harshad Mehta scam was exposed by Sucheta Dalal.

Later years

After retirement, Venkitaramanan served as the Chairman of Ashok Leyland Investment Services Ltd., New Tirupur Area Development Corporation Ltd. and Ashok Leyland Finance Ltd.[8] He also served in the boards of Reliance Industries Limited, SPIC, Piramal Healthcare Ltd, Tamil Nadu Water Investment Co. Ltd and Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd.[8]

His daughter Girija Vaidyanathan — a 1981, Tamil Nadu cadre Indian Administrative Service officer — served as the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu.[12]

Published books

Venkitaramanan has published three books, Indian Economy: Reviews And Commentaries - Vol I, Indian Economy: Reviews And Commentaries - Vol II, and Indian Economy: Reviews And Commentaries - Vol III.

Actor Anant Mahadevan portrayed Venkitaramanan in Scam 1992, a Sony Liv's original web series based on 1992 Indian stock market scam of Harshad Mehta.[13]

References
  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "List of Governors". Reserve Bank of India. Retrieved 8 December 2006.
  3. "S Venkitaramanan". indian-coins.com.
  4. Balakrishnan, Pulapre (23 August 2016). "Looking for some change, Governor". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.
  5. "In fact: RBI head and crisis manager during 1991 BOP turmoil". 5 April 2017.
  6. "AIADMK's pick of no-nonsense Girija Vaidhyanathan as Chief Secretary surprises many". 22 December 2016.
  7. "Profiles - Mr. S. Venkitaramanan :: Reliance Industries Limited". Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  8. "Stocks". www.bloomberg.com.
  9. "SUPREMO". supremo.nic.in. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  10. "Urjit Patel resigns: From Osborne Smith to Shaktikanta Das, here's a list of the men who have held the top post at Mint Street". Moneycontrol.
  11. "Reserve Bank of India - Governors". Rbi.org.in. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  12. "5 things you need to know about new Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu Girija Vaidyanathan | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  13. "Real Vs. Reel: Characters In 'Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story' & Their Real-Life Counterparts". ScoopWhoop. 17 October 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.


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