Mumbai: S Venkitaramanan, who guided the Reserve Bank of India through the crucial years of the 1990s balance of payments crisis, subsequent economic reforms and the Harshad Mehta scam, died in Chennai on Saturday at the age of 92.
Appointed as the eighteenth Governor of the RBI in 1990 by the Chandra Shekhar government during the period of balance of payments crisis, Venkataramanan served in the post for two transformational years from 1990 to 1992. Despite his lack of formal qualifications as an economist, he was selected for his familiarity with the balance of payments situation which had led to the depletion of foreign exchange reserves.
Before his governorship, Venkataramanan served as Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance from 1985 to 1989. His immediate challenge as RBI Governor was to manage the crisis by engaging with other central banks and multilateral institutions to raise foreign exchange. For this, the government had to take the unprecedented step of mortgaging the gold reserves.
He played a key role in managing the crisis and implementing subsequent reforms under Manmohan Singh, including the devaluation of the rupee as part of the International Monetary Fund’s stabilization programme.
Born in the city of Nagercoil in the princely state of Travancore, Venkataramanan earned a master’s degree in Physics from University College Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and later a master’s degree in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA.
A member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Venkatramanan served in various positions, his notable tenure being Finance Secretary for four years from 1985 to 1989.
Venkataramanan faced criticism during the Harshad Mehta scam, which many considered a systemic failure in government securities market operations. This incident led to subsequent reforms in the government securities market.
After retirement, Venkatramanan remained active as the Chairman of Ashok Leyland Investment Services, New Tiruppur Area Development Corporation and Ashok Leyland Finance. Additionally, he also served on the boards of Reliance Industries Limited, SPIC, Piramal Healthcare, Tamil Nadu Water Investment Company and HDFC.
Appointed as the eighteenth Governor of the RBI in 1990 by the Chandra Shekhar government during the period of balance of payments crisis, Venkataramanan served in the post for two transformational years from 1990 to 1992. Despite his lack of formal qualifications as an economist, he was selected for his familiarity with the balance of payments situation which had led to the depletion of foreign exchange reserves.
Before his governorship, Venkataramanan served as Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance from 1985 to 1989. His immediate challenge as RBI Governor was to manage the crisis by engaging with other central banks and multilateral institutions to raise foreign exchange. For this, the government had to take the unprecedented step of mortgaging the gold reserves.
He played a key role in managing the crisis and implementing subsequent reforms under Manmohan Singh, including the devaluation of the rupee as part of the International Monetary Fund’s stabilization programme.
Born in the city of Nagercoil in the princely state of Travancore, Venkataramanan earned a master’s degree in Physics from University College Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and later a master’s degree in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA.
A member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Venkatramanan served in various positions, his notable tenure being Finance Secretary for four years from 1985 to 1989.
Venkataramanan faced criticism during the Harshad Mehta scam, which many considered a systemic failure in government securities market operations. This incident led to subsequent reforms in the government securities market.
After retirement, Venkatramanan remained active as the Chairman of Ashok Leyland Investment Services, New Tiruppur Area Development Corporation and Ashok Leyland Finance. Additionally, he also served on the boards of Reliance Industries Limited, SPIC, Piramal Healthcare, Tamil Nadu Water Investment Company and HDFC.
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