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Britannia Industries has notified to the stock exchanges that Urjit Patel, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will be joining its board as an independent director. Alongside Patel, Sunil Siddharth Lalbhai has also been proposed by the Britannia board to serve as an additional non-executive independent director for a five-year term, subject to shareholder approval. Patel is returning to the Britannia board after a two-year hiatus, having left in 2022 to take on a full-time role as CEO of the Asia Investment and Infrastructure Bank. He had previously served as RBI governor from September 2016 until his resignation in December 2018.
Patel, who was the 24th governor of the RBI, is not the first former leader of the banking regulatory body to join a private sector board. For example, the late S. Venkitaramanan, RBI governor from 1990 to 1992, held directorships at Piramal Healthcare and Reliance Industries, among other companies, and also chaired Ashok Leyland Finance.
Unlike many of his predecessors, Patel had private sector experience before leading the RBI, having worked for IDFC and Reliance Industries. While this is relatively rare in India, it is more common in Western countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.
Although it is generally expected that senior RBI officials wait a year before joining the private sector, the central bank has granted exceptions in extraordinary circumstances, allowing officials to take new roles with their employer's consent.
