Most High-Profile Front Row With Who's-Who of India Inc at RBI@90 Event in Mumbai

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday celebrated its 90th year in Mumbai, where RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered their keynote presentations.

Addressing the event, Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the RBI has been working to strengthen the resilience of the Indian financial sector by continuously assessing new trends and implementing preventive measures.

Interestingly, the RBI event saw some of the important personalities of India’s corporate sector sitting in the front row. The front row at RBI@90 celebrations saw the presence of guests like Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra, Deepak Parekh, Uday Kotak and KV Kamath.

A Look at Who’s-Who of India Inc at RBI@90 Event

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & Managing Director of Reliance Industries

Mukesh Ambani is India’s one of the top businessmen who serves as chairman and managing director of the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), a multinational conglomerate with businesses across sectors such as petrochemicals, energy, textiles, retail and telecommunications.

With a net worth of $117.5 billion as of March 4, 2024, Ambani is Asia’s wealthiest person. He is also ranked among the top 10 wealthiest people in the world on Forbes magazine’s annual list of billionaires in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group

Anand Mahindra is the Chairman of the Mahindra Group, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited and Tech Mahindra Limited. His tenure has seen the Group expand domestically and internationally into a range of major industrial sectors, from automobiles and agriculture to IT and aerospace.

He has served on several influential bodies, including the Reserve Bank of India Board, UN Global Compact Board, Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Bank Group’s Advisory Board for Doing Business. Anand Mahindra, India’s leading business tycoon, has been conferred with the Padma Bhushan Award in 2020, India’s third-highest civilian honour, for his contribution to the nation in the field of ‘Trade and Industry’.

Deepak Parekh, Indian businessman & former Chairman of HDFC

Deepak Parekh has an extensive and highly commended executive career, including serving on the Boards of several Indian and international corporations. He has been a member of Indian Government-appointed advisory committees and task forces on matters ranging from infrastructure reform to capital markets and financial services.

His contributions to business have been recognised on numerous occasions and he was the first international recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, in 2010.

Uday Kotak, Founder & Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank

Uday Kotak is the Founder and Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank and has played an important role in the growth of the Kotak Mahindra group over the past 38 years. He has played an important role in defining and developing India’s banking and financial sector over three decades.

Kotak leads several key bodies and is currently Co-Chairman of the Indo-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) and Chairman of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India’s advisory committee on Corporate Insolvency and Liquidation. He is on the International Advisory Panel of Monetary Authority of Singapore, the International Advisory Board of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.

KV Kamath, Chairman of Board of Directors of Jio Financial Services

Kundapur Vaman Kamath is an accomplished Indian banker who started his career with Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI; later named ICICI Bank). Kamath is a Padma Bhushan awardee currently serves as an Independent Director and Non-Executive Chairman at Jio Financial Services. He also serves as an independent Director on the boards of Houston-based oil services company, Schlumberger, since 2010, and Indian pharmaceutical manufacturer, Lupin.

RBI Turns 90 Today

Established in 1935, RBI functions as the nation’s central bank, following the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission and is governed by the Reserve Bank of India Act, of 1934.

The functioning of this central bank is governed by the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (II of 1934), and it began operations on April 1, 1935, with Sir Osborne Smith as the first Governor, responsible for functions such as currency issuance, banking services for banks and the government, and the development of rural cooperatives and agricultural credit.

In 1937, the Central Office of the Reserve Bank was also shifted from Kolkata to Mumbai.

The RBI’s role has expanded to cover monetary management, regulation and supervision of the financial system, management of foreign exchange, currency issuance, regulation and supervision of payment and settlement systems, and developmental roles over the years.