S. Venkitaramanan
Sri Venkitaramanan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Nagercoil, Travancore |
| Died | November 18, 2023 (aged 92) |
| Occupation(s) | Economist, Civil servant |
| Years active | 1960s–1992 |
| Known for | 18th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India; role in India's economic liberalisation and balance of payments crisis management |
Sri Venkitaramanan (28 January 1931 – 18 November 2023) was a distinguished Indian economist and civil servant who held the position of the 18th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between 1990 and 1992. He was instrumental in navigating India through a severe balance of payments crisis, playing a vital role in stabilizing the nation’s economy at a time when foreign exchange reserves were critically low. His stewardship was pivotal in initiating India's economic liberalisation during the early 1990s.
Prior to his role as RBI Governor, Venkitaramanan served as the Finance Secretary in India's Ministry of Finance from 1985 until 1989, where he contributed to significant fiscal policymaking during a transformative era for the country's economy.
Early life
Born on 28 January 1931 in Nagercoil, then part of the princely state of Travancore, Venkitaramanan hailed from a Tamil Iyer family. He completed a master's degree in physics at University College Thiruvananthapuram and later obtained a master's in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh.
Career
An officer of the Indian Administrative Service, Venkitaramanan served both the central government and the state administrations of Tamilnadu and Karnataka. In the late 1960s, he was appointed private secretary to food minister Chidambaram Subramaniam, playing a role during India's Green Revolution.
Between 1985 and 1989, he occupied the post of Finance Secretary within the Ministry of Finance (India) under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He also offered advisory support to the Government of Karnataka during President's rule. His appointment as the 18th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1990 to 1992 came at a critical juncture marked by a balance of payments emergency and rapidly dwindling foreign currency reserves. Although not formally trained as an economist, his understanding of the crisis was a key factor in his selection.
During his governorship, India embraced the stabilization program recommended by the International Monetary Fund and embarked on economic reforms, including devaluing the Indian rupee. He worked closely with finance minister Manmohan Singh to implement these reforms and liaised with international organizations to secure foreign exchange inflows. Additionally, Venkitaramanan oversaw the RBI throughout the period of the 1992 Indian stock market scam involving Harshad Mehta, one of India's major securities market scandals.
Following his retirement, he chaired Ashok Leyland Investment Services Ltd., New Tirupur Area Development Corporation Ltd., and Ashok Leyland Finance Ltd. Moreover, he held board positions at Reliance Industries Limited, SPIC, Piramal Healthcare Ltd, Tamil Nadu Water Investment Co. Ltd, and Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd.
Personal life
Venkitaramanan was married and had two daughters. One of his daughters, Girija Vaidyanathan, also joined the Indian Administrative Service and served as Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu.
He died on 18 November 2023 at the age of 92.
Published works
- Indian Economy: Reviews And Commentaries - Vol.III (2005), ICFAI University Press
- Indian Economy: Reviews And Commentaries - Vol.II (2003), ICFAI University Press
- Indian Economy: Reviews And Commentaries - Vol.I (2003), ICFAI University Press
- Dilemmas of Development: The Indian Experience (1998), Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics
In popular culture
- The character of Venkitaramanan was depicted by actor Anant Mahadevan in Scam 1992, a web series produced by Sony Liv that dramatizes the 1992 Indian stock market scam centered around Harshad Mehta.