Former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin appointed to RBI central board for four-year term

Former Indian diplomat Syed Akbaruddin has joined the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India for a four-year term as a part-time, non-official director.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved his appointment. The board oversees the general direction and affairs of India’s central bank.

Akbaruddin served as India’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York from 2016 to 2020. A 1985-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, he previously worked as the official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs. Since 2021, he has been dean of the Kautilya School of Public Policy at GITAM University.

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It is an honour and a privilege to serve on the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India, one of the country’s premier public institutions.

The board also appointed Annie George Mathew, a former special secretary of expenditure in the Finance Ministry, and Janmejaya Kumar Sinha, chairman of Boston Consulting Group India. Their appointments bring experience in diplomacy, public finance, economic policy and corporate strategy.

“It is an honour and a privilege to serve on the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India, one of the country’s premier public institutions,” Akbaruddin said. “I am grateful for the trust placed in me. I look forward to contributing, with humility and diligence, to its deliberations in the service of India’s economy and people.”

Akbaruddin’s background in multilateral affairs, foreign policy and governance will feed into board discussions involving monetary matters, international trade shifts, global economic developments and geopolitical factors.

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I am grateful for the trust placed in me. I look forward to contributing, with humility and diligence, to its deliberations in the service of India’s economy and people.