He was appointed as the RBI Deputy Governor in October 2020 for a period of three years.
Rao was elevated as the RBI executive director in November 2016.
An economics graduate and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Cochin, Rao joined the central bank in 1984.
As a career central banker, he has exposure to various aspects of the RBI’s functioning. He has previously held the charge of the Risk Monitoring Department.
He has also worked as the Banking Ombudsman in New Delhi and in the Reserve Bank’s regional offices in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai and the national capital. According to the RBI Act 1934, the central bank needs to have four deputy governors — two from within the ranks, one commercial banker and another an economist to head the monetary policy department.