The Central Government has appointed three eminent persons as part-time, non-official directors on the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a four-year term with effect from August 24, 2026. The appointees are Annie George Mathew, former Special Secretary in the Department of Expenditure, Janmejaya Sinha, Chairman of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) India, and Syed Akbaruddin, former Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations. With these appointments, the strength of the Central Board has risen to 14 members, including the Governor and Deputy Governors.
Who Are the Three New Directors?
The three appointments were approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on August 22, 2026, on the recommendation of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance. The appointments were notified under Section 8(1)(c) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, which allows the Central Government to nominate ten directors from various fields to the Central Board. Each director will hold office for four years from August 24, 2026, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. The selection brings together expertise in public finance, corporate strategy and international diplomacy.
Annie George Mathew: Public Finance Specialist
Annie George Mathew is an officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) of the 1988 batch. She superannuated as Special Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, in September 2021, after more than 34 years of service in public finance, government audit and accounts, procurement and financial management.
She has served as Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary in the Department of Expenditure and was a Government nominee director on the board of Indian Overseas Bank from 2016 to 2023. In January 2024, she was appointed as a full-time Member of the Sixteenth Finance Commission, chaired by Dr. Arvind Panagariya and constituted on December 31, 2023 under Article 280 of the Constitution. The Commission will recommend the sharing of central taxes between the Centre and States for the five-year period starting April 1, 2026, and is expected to submit its report by October 31, 2025. She holds degrees from Miranda House and the University of Delhi.
Janmejaya Sinha: Economist and Management Consultant
Janmejaya Kumar Sinha is an economist and senior management consultant. He is currently Chairman, BCG India, and a member of the Henderson Institute Innovation Sounding Board at the Boston Consulting Group. He earlier served as Chairman of BCG Asia-Pacific and joined BCG in 1998.
Before joining BCG, he began his career at the Reserve Bank of India, giving him direct insight into central banking. He advises the Government on structural reforms and economic transformation and was a private sector member of the reform panels led by Rajiv Gauba for the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. He has also served on several regulatory and government committees related to the financial sector. His profile combines experience in corporate strategy, banking and policy reform.
Syed Akbaruddin: Diplomat Turned Policy Educator
Syed Akbaruddin is a retired diplomat of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), 1985 batch. He served as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from January 2016 to April 2020, as Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) from January 2012 to April 2015, and as India’s Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna from 2006 to 2011.
After retirement, he joined academia and has been serving as Dean of the Kautilya School of Public Policy (KSPP) in Hyderabad since June 2021. Kautilya, established in 2020, offers a two-year residential Masters in Public Policy programme. At KSPP, he focuses on connecting diplomacy, multilateral negotiations and public policy education. His diplomatic career spanned handling issues such as climate change, terrorism, cyber security and nuclear technology at multilateral forums.
How the RBI Central Board Is Constituted
The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Its Central Office was initially in Kolkata and was permanently moved to Mumbai in 1937. Though originally a shareholders’ bank, it was nationalised on January 1, 1949 and is now fully owned by the Government of India. Its Preamble defines its core mandate as regulating the issue of bank notes, keeping reserves to secure monetary stability, operating the currency and credit system to its advantage, and maintaining price stability while keeping growth in mind.
The affairs of the RBI are governed by the Central Board of Directors, constituted under Section 8 of the RBI Act, 1934. The Board exercises general superintendence and direction of the Bank’s affairs.
| Category under RBI Act | Composition | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Section 8(1)(a) - Official Directors | Governor and not more than four Deputy Governors, appointed by the Central Government | Governor and Deputy Governors hold office for a term not exceeding five years, eligible for re-appointment |
| Section 8(1)(b) - Local Board Directors | Four Directors, one from each of the four Local Boards (Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern), nominated by the Central Government | Four years, eligible for re-appointment for a maximum of eight years (two terms) |
| Section 8(1)(c) - Non-official Directors | Ten Directors from various fields, nominated by the Central Government | Four years, maximum two terms or eight years |
| Section 8(1)(d) - Government Nominees | Two Government officials nominated by the Central Government | During the pleasure of the Central Government |
In addition, four Local Boards are constituted under Section 9 of the Act for the Western, Eastern, Northern and Southern areas. Each Local Board has five members appointed by the Central Government to represent territorial and economic interests and the interests of cooperative and indigenous banks. Each Local Board advises the Central Board on matters referred to it and performs duties delegated by the Central Board. Members hold office for four years.
The Board is assisted by committees such as the Committee of the Central Board (CCB) and the Board for Financial Supervision (BFS), which was set up in November 1994 to exercise integrated supervision over commercial banks, financial institutions and non-banking financial companies.
Current Strength and Recent Changes
As of August 24, 2026, the Central Board’s strength is 14 members, according to the RBI press release. This includes the Governor, four Deputy Governors, two Government officials and non-official directors. Before the latest three appointments, the Board had 11 members after several terms ended earlier in 2026.
The outgoing non-official directors whose terms ended this year included Satish Kashinath Marathe, Swaminathan Gurumurthy, Venu Srinivasan, Pankaj Ramanbhai Patel and Ravindra H. Dholakia, among others. To fill vacancies, the Government had, just days earlier on August 20, 2026, appointed Somanath Sreedhara Panicker, former Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), as a part-time non-official director, and re-appointed industrialist Anand Gopal Mahindra for a four-year term.
The present continuing members include:
| Member | Role / Category |
|---|---|
| Sanjay Malhotra | Governor (Section 8(1)(a)) |
| Swaminathan J, Dr. Poonam Gupta, Shirish Chandra Murmu, Rohit Jain | Deputy Governors |
| Revathy Iyer and Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi | Directors nominated under Section 8(1)(b) (also representing Local Boards; re-nominated on September 18, 2022 for four years) |
| Anuradha Thakur, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Sanjay Lohiya, Secretary, Department of Financial Services | Government officials under Section 8(1)(d) |
| Somanath Sreedhara Panicker, Anand Gopal Mahindra, Annie George Mathew, Janmejaya Sinha, Syed Akbaruddin | Part-time non-official directors under Section 8(1)(c) |
The total sanctioned strength can be up to 21 members (Governor plus four Deputy Governors, ten non-official directors, two Government officials and four Local Board directors), but the actual filled strength varies with vacancies and new nominations. Non-official directors are paid a sitting fee of ₹60,000 per meeting for Central Board meetings.
Significance of the New Appointments
The Central Board is the highest decision making body for the RBI’s general superintendence. While day to day monetary policy is decided by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the Central Board oversees broader governance, including regulation and supervision, financial stability, currency management and institutional direction. Its composition is deliberately diverse, drawing from economics, finance, industry, administration and diplomacy to bring outside perspective to central banking.
The three new appointments strengthen three distinct skill gaps. Mathew brings deep experience in public finance and expenditure management at a time when fiscal and monetary coordination is critical and when the Sixteenth Finance Commission is finalising recommendations on Centre-State resource sharing. Sinha brings private sector and consultancy expertise in financial sector reforms and economic transformation, relevant for the RBI’s developmental and regulatory roles. Akbaruddin adds global diplomacy and multilateral negotiation experience, useful as the RBI navigates external sector challenges, cross border payments, and India’s engagement with international financial bodies.
Together with the recent induction of a space technologist and an industry leader, the reconstituted Board reflects an effort to blend traditional financial expertise with technology, industry and global affairs. For competitive examinations, the appointments are important from the perspectives of the RBI’s organisation, the RBI Act, 1934, and the role of the ACC and DFS in senior appointments.
Key Takeaways
- The Central Government appointed Annie George Mathew, Janmejaya Sinha and Syed Akbaruddin as part-time, non-official directors on the RBI Central Board for four years with effect from August 24, 2026 under Section 8(1)(c) of the RBI Act, 1934.
- With these three appointments, the Board’s strength rose from 11 to 14 members and includes Governor Sanjay Malhotra and four Deputy Governors (Swaminathan J, Poonam Gupta, Shirish Chandra Murmu and Rohit Jain).
- Annie George Mathew is a 1988-batch IA&AS officer, former Special Secretary, Expenditure, and current full-time Member of the Sixteenth Finance Commission chaired by Arvind Panagariya (constituted December 31, 2023).
- Janmejaya Sinha is Chairman, BCG India and former Chairman of BCG Asia-Pacific, who began his career at the RBI and joined BCG in 1998.
- Syed Akbaruddin, 1985-batch IFS, served as Permanent Representative of India to the UN (2016 to 2020) and MEA Spokesperson (2012 to 2015), and is now Dean of Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad.
- The RBI was established on April 1, 1935 under the RBI Act, 1934, moved its Central Office from Kolkata to Mumbai in 1937, and was nationalised on January 1, 1949.
