Sanjay Malhotra The new manager at Mint Street

December 9 started as a normal day for the North Block mandarins, questions about the Finance Ministry will be answered in the Lok Sabha. But for keen observers of economics and financial markets, the big question of the time was starless and unstarred. It revolved around the Government of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Incumbent Shaktikanta Das, in his sixth year at the RBI, had recently introduced a monetary policy that discouraged the government from issuing interest rate cuts, especially after GDP growth slowed to 5.4% between July and September.

Mr. Das, whose term in office was due to end on December 10, said the balance of inflation has eased but said persistent inflation is hurting consumption and growth. On Monday, journalists who have been running stories about another extension of his, had changed since there is no official report, floating names of senior officials who could replace Mr. Das. No one had an idea that that name would be Union Finance Secretary Sanjay Malhotra.

Unknown factor

They are not the only ones who are surprised – even Mr. Malhotra is known to have been informed a few hours before his official appointment. The Rajasthan-based, 1990-batch IAS officer is no ordinary Finance Ministry insider appointed to the top post on Mint Street. Like his predecessor, most of the nominees have held departments such as Economic Affairs, or held the role of Finance Secretary, like the late RN Malhotra, who was the 17th RBI Governor.

Mr. Malhotra, who has spent most of his life in North India, is a computer engineering student at IIT Kanpur, with a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Princeton University. His new role brings him to the heart of India’s financial markets in Mumbai for at least three years.

“Not much is known about Mr. Malhotra’s views on current economic issues, so he is an unknown person from that point of view,” said economists at Nomura Securities. Others echoed this view, saying things like ‘we don’t know how he feels about growth and inflation but if the government elected him at this time, he would force them to cut rates faster and harder’.

Soft-spoken, inquisitive

Cricket and coffee player, Mr. Malhotra is one of the soft-spoken, yet no-nonsense executives in the profession, known not only for his clear answers to questions, but also for his questioning. In a media interaction, after one’s questions are done and dusted and if time permits, they can extend the conversation over a cup of Coffee Board drink to get a low-level response to the issues and ideas being made.

On his first day in office, Governor Malhotra stated that there is no bias towards growth or inflation, saying that he does not like to start playing his shots from the first ball of the game. But he promised to “put the best foot forward in the public interest” once he had a clear idea of ​​the pitch, with a keen eye on the four pillars of the policy that were important to the people – growth, stability, confidence and trust, he noted.

Mr. Malhotra may be a mystery to Mint Street watchers, but having served as Secretary of the Ministry of Financial Services, he has been on the board of the central bank, and is an authority of sorts on banking and financial reforms. In addition, his role of Revenue probably gives him a unique opportunity for economic growth and influence, as he not only understands the flow of direct taxes from companies and households, but also trends in the trade of goods and services that only a small detail of GST, Customs and Price trends can reveal. It is not in vain that the Centre’s revenue figures (which depend on growth assumptions) worked on in the latest Budget, generally appear to be there.

Mr. Malhotra knows a lot more about the economic landscape than many realize, and in his new innings, where continuous communication plays a key role, the world is about to find out – with or without moderation.