Vol 3 | Issue 3 | July 2016

CELEBRITY WATCH : Raghuram Rajan
Born on February 3, 1963, in a Tamil Brahmin family, Raghuram
Rajan is well known as an economic reformist and is largely loved by
the industry and market participants for his consistent and transparent
communication.
Rajan did his schooling from Delhi Public School, RK Puram, where he learnt Hindi for the first
time. Before this, he had attended a French school at Belgium, where his father, R Govindarajan, an IPS
topper and a staff officer of Research and Analysis Wing was posted. During his graduation at IIT- Delhi,
he was awarded with the Director’s Gold Medal as the best all-round student. In 1987, he earned a Post
Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
where he was a gold medalist. Apart from being a brilliant academician, he is an author, avid quizzer
and runs marathon.
After graduation, Rajan joined Tata Administrative Services as a management trainee but left after a
few months to join the doctoral program in management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. In
1991, he received a PhD for his thesis titled Essays on Banking, where he realized his research interests
in banking, corporate finance, and economic development.
Raghuram Rajan has earned several awards in his career, starting from ‘Fischer Black Prize’,
awarded by the American Finance Association for his contribution to the theory and practice of finance.
NASSCOM, in 2010, named him ‘The Global Indian’. He was even awarded for his book “Fault Lines:
How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy’ in the same year. In the following year, he
received the Infosys Prize for Social Sciences – Economics for his work on analyzing the contribution
of financial development to economic growth. In 2013, he received an award for his ground-breaking
research work, which influenced the macro-economic policies around the world. Subsequently, in the
year 2014, he was conferred with the Central Banker of the year Award by various publications.
Rajan was the youngest chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2003 to
2006 and was a Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business from
1991 to 2013. He is also a visiting professor for the World Bank, Federal Reserve Board, and Swedish
Parliamentary Commission. He joined the Indian government as Chief Economic Advisor to the Ministry
of Finance and prepared the economic survey for India for the year 2012 - 13 before heading the RBI.
At the helm of RBI, serving as the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Rajan has
contributed immensely for improving the country’s economic scenario and led profuse developments
in the Indian financial system. Under his governorship, RBI came out with a new monetary framework
that focused on bringing down inflation, the lowest since 90’s and rising of Foreign Currency Non-
Resident (B) deposits to bolster foreign exchange reserves. Today, the Forex Reserves are high as that
of $363 billion, all due to his pragmatic approach. His presence made our currency stable. Moreover,
he released on-tap licensing to ease the process of banking. Lower inflation and stability in currency
markets helped bring down key repo rate to a five-year low, which enhanced the economic growth
and consumer spending as well.
In a recent interaction with the students at Kolkata Presidency University, Raghuram Rajan
batted for the federal government on the GST bill, describing it as an “absolutely good thing” for
the country as it will expand the tax net, shore up revenues for the exchequer and reduce the state
barriers, making the country a common market place.
Raghuram Rajan’s practices, principles and contribution towards our economy are commendable,
making our country reach new heights and compete strongly in the global financial ecosystem.
Compiled By:- Priyanka Agarwal, Class of 2017, IBS Gurgaon
16 SAMVAAD | Vol. 3 | Issue 3 | JULY 2016