BRICS-led New Development Bank appoints Rajiv Ranjan as new VP; who's he?

BRICS-led multilateral bank New Development Bank (NDB) has appointed Rajiv Ranjan, the executive director at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as its vice president (V-P) for a five-year term. A career central banker with over 35 years of experience, Ranjan started his stint with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 1989, and he has been serving as an executive director and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) since May 2022.

Previously, as head of the Monetary Policy Department and Secretary to the MPC, Ranjan played a key role in monetary policy and liquidity-related functions. His extensive professional experience includes leading the Department of Economic and Policy Research, with a focus on data-driven policy research, serving as an economic policy expert in the Central Bank of Oman (2012-15), and assignments in the International Department and the Department of External Investments and Operations of the Reserve Bank. He also brings a wealth of experience in working with major multilateral financial institutions and groupings such as the G20, IMF, World Bank, BIS, FSB, OECD, SAARC and central banks from the Global South.

A statement by NDB says Ranjan's expertise in the areas of macroeconomic policies, including monetary, fiscal and external policies; financial market operations; risk management; foreign exchange and bond market; and international economic affairs has contributed significantly to India’s economic governance.

A master’s degree holder in economics from the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi and a PhD in Economics from the University of Mumbai, Ranjan has also co-authored three books in addition to publications on contemporary economic and developmental issues in academic journals.

NDB is a multilateral development bank established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), intending to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs).