Mumbai, Dec 11 : Sanjay Malhotra on Wednesday took charge as the 26th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Malhotra, a career bureaucrat, arrived at the central bank's headquarter this morning, where he was welcomed by senior RBI staffers. The central bank confirmed Malhotra's appointment through a post on the microblogging site "X" and also shared a few pictures. Malhotra, who recently served as the Revenue Secretary, signed the documents to take the charge of the important institution that performs a variety of roles. Deputy Governors Swaminathan J, M Rajeshwar Rao, and T Rabi Sankar were present when he assumed charge.

Malhotra, an IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre comes at the helm of RBI at a very critical juncture, where growth and inflation balance has "unsettled" as per his predecessor Shaktikanta Das. GDP Growth declined to a seven-quarter low of 5.4 per cent in the September quarter while the October headline inflation was above the 6 per cent mark set for the central bank by the government.

Analysts are expecting the RBI to cut interest rates at the forthcoming policy review in February, and are of the opinion that Malhotra's appointment "cements" the possibility. Under Das, the Reserve Bank maintained a status quo on key rates for 11 consecutive meetings over nearly two years as it prioritised to tame inflation. It also diagnosed the slow growth as a result of high inflation. Malhotra is scheduled to interact with the press later in the day, where he may spell out his focus areas. 

/Agencies