One year of Urjit Patel as RBI Governor: Key highlights from his tenure

Here are the landmark decisions of Urjit Patel's during his year-long tenure as RBI Governor.

Smriti Srivastava

New Delhi: Urjit Patel is the first RBI governor to be chosen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Patel has run the RBI's monetary policy department since 2013.

He headed a panel that recommended landmark changes in the monetary policy formulation of the central bank. He is also considered a 'hawk' on his monetary policy stance.

Below are the landmark decisions of Urjit Patel during his year-long tenure

September 2016

• Assumes charge on September 5, 2016 as 24th RBI Governor

October 2016

• Cuts Repo Rate, the RBI's key lending rate by 25 basis points in Maiden Monetary Policy

• Becomes first governor to chair a six member monetary policy commitee.

November 2016

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.

• Patel oversees the world's largest Currency Recall Exercise.

• Printing of new Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes took place.

December 2016

• In a Hawkish move, RBI keeps Repo Rate unchanged at 6.25 percent.

• RBI says Rs 12.44 lakh crore worth of banned Rs 1000 and 500 notes returned as of December 10, 2016

• Urjit Patel heckled by congress workers in Kolkata.

January 2017

• Patel tells parliamentary panel that deposited demonetised currency notes are still being counted.

February 2017

• Keeps repo rate unchanged and changes stance to a hawkish ''Neutral'' from ''Accomodative''.

March 2017

• RBI lifts restriction on ATM cash withdrawal.

August 2017

• Cuts Repo Rate by 25 basis points.

• Tells parliamentary panel that returned notes are still being counted.

• Introduces new Rs 200 note.

• Only Rs 16,000 crore demonetised notes remained unreturned, says RBI Annual Report.

• 99% of banned Rs 500/100 notes worth Rs 15.28 lakh crore back in system, says RBI.