Dr.Bimal Jalan was the Governor of the Reserve Bank
of India from November 22, 1997 to Septemeber 6, 2003. Initially appointed as Governor,
for a term of three years, Dr. Jalan was re-appointed as Governor of the Reserve
Bank of India, first for a period of two years commencing November 22, 2000 to November
21, 2002 and again for a further period of two years commencing November 22, 2002
and ending November 21, 2004. He was nominated as Rajya Sabha member on August 27,
2003 and relinquished office as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India on September
6, 2003.
An economist by profession. Dr. Jalan has held several administrative
and advisory positions in the Government of India. He was the Chief Economic Adviser
to the Union Government in the 1980s, Banking Secretary between 1985 and 1989 and
Finance Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. As Finance Secretary,
he was also on the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India. He has
also been the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister between
January 1991 and September 1992. Dr. Jalan has served as the Executive Director
representing India on the Boards of the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank. At the time of his appointment as the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Dr. Jalan
was the Member-Secretary, Planning Commission in New Delhi.
Born in 1941, Dr. Jalan is educated in the Presidency College,
Calcutta, Cambridge and Oxford Universities. Dr. Jalan has authored India's Economic
Crisis: The Way Ahead(Oxford University Press, 1991) and edited The Indian Economy:
Problems and Prospects(Penguin, 1993). His latest book India's Economic Policy:
Preparing for the Twenty-first Century(Viking, 1996) examines some
of the critical policy choices for India at the present juncture.
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