Former RBI Governor S Venkitaramanan passes away 

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S Venkitaramanan, former Governor of RBI, passed away after a brief illness this morning. He was 92 and is survived by his two daughters, Girija and Sudha and their families.

Venkitaramanan was the 18th Governor of RBI. He served for a period of two years, from 1990 to 1992. Earlier, he served as Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, from 1985 to 1989. 

A member of the Indian Administrative Service, had served as Finance Secretary and Advisor to the Government of Karnataka prior to his appointment as Governor.

Venkitaraman’s tenure at the central bank was at a time when the country faced unprecedented difficulties in the external sector, with foreign exchange reserves falling to a low of just two-months worth of imports. 

“His adroit management saw the country tide over the balance of payments crisis. His term also saw India adopt the IMF’s stabilisation programme where the Rupee underwent a devaluation and the launch of the programme of economic reforms, “ the RBI said in a statement today.