Urjit Patel named vice president of AIIB

Former RBI governor Urjit Patel was appointed as vice president for investment operations in South Asia at the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), replacing former bureaucrat from Gujarat, D J Pandian.

He succeeds D Jagatheesa Pandian, a Gujarat cadre IAS officer who retired as chief secretary of the state six years back. He was head of the Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC) when Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat.

“AIIB’s Board of Directors has appointed Dr Urjit Patel to the position of Vice President for Investment Operations Region 1 – South Asia, the Pacific Islands and South East Asia,” the statement said.

Patel, 58, was the 24th governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), succeeding Raghuram Rajan on September 5, 2016. Patel had abruptly resigned in December 2018 citing “personal reasons”.

AIIB is a multilateral development bank that aims to improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. The bank currently has 104 members, including 17 prospective members from around the world.