Raghuram Rajan

Raghuram Rajan is an Indian economist, Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

He has played an important role in finance, corporate finance and banking and economic development

In this article, we will talk about Raghuram Rajan, his contributions, research, personal life and much more.

About Raghuram Rajan

• Full Name: Raghuram Govinda Rajan
• Nick Name:Raghu, Rajan
• Net Worth: Around $5 million as of 2023
• Income Source: Professional endeavors as an economist
• Age: 60 Years
• Place of Birth: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
• Nationality: Indian
• Ethnicity: Tamil Brahmin

Education of Raghuram Rajan

School Name: Delhi Public School (DPS), R. K. Puram, New Delhi

College Name

• Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
• Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
• MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Qualification

• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering
• Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration
• Ph.D. course in the theory of financial decisions

Family

Wife's Name: Radhika Rajan

Mother's Name: Not Known

Father's Name: R Govindarajan

Siblings Name

• Srinivas Rajan
• Jayashree Rajan
• Mukund Rajan

Physical Appearance of Raghuram Rajan

Height

• In Feet: 6 Feet and 1Inches
• In Centimeter: 185 cm
• In meters: 1.85 meter

Eye color: Black

Hair Color: Black

Favourite Foods of Raghuram Rajan

• South Indian Dishes
• Paneer Birbali
• Coffee

Hobbies

• Writing
• Sports
• Quiz
• Puzzles
• Sudoku
• Exercise
• Playing Video Games

Early Years and Childhood of Raghuram

On February 3, 1963, Raghuram Govind Rajan was born in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, to R. Govindarajan, a former intelligence officer, and his spouse. He was the family's third child.

Raghuram finished his education at R.K. Puram, Delhi Public School. After that, he continued his education at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, where he earned his Electrical Engineering degree in 1985.

For his outstanding academic performance, he was awarded the "Director's Gold Medal." In 1987, he completed his studies at the esteemed Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and received a postgraduate diploma in business administration with honors. Additionally, he was awarded the prestigious Gold Medal by the management school.

Career of Raghuram Rajan

Rajan's first job was as an assistant professor at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. During his time there, he received invitations to give guest lectures at prestigious institutions such as the Stockholm School of Economics and Kellogg School.

His outstanding economic abilities were on full display from 2003 to 2006 when he worked as the IMF Economic Counsellor and Director of Research. The book "Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists: Unleashing the Power of Financial Markets to Create Wealth Spread Opportunity" was co-authored by him and Luigi Zingales in the year 2003.

In 2005, Rajan presented his research results about the world's economies in a paper titled "Has Financial Development Made the World Riskier?" Despite early criticism, many individuals gradually came to agree with him when markets throughout the world began to fall.

In 2007, Rajan went back to teaching for a short while until the Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, persuaded him to join him as an honorary economic adviser. He was named head of the financial reforms committee by the Indian government's Planning Commission in November of that year.

In 2009, an economist wrote an article for "The Economist" on ways to reduce the adverse impacts of financial liberalization-induced boom-bust cycles. The book "Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy" was written by the same economist in 2010. The Financial Times named the book the greatest business book of the year, and it got favorable reviews from both readers and critics.

Furthermore, Raghuram belongs to both the Group of Thirty and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He presided over the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as its president in 2011.

The year following Kaushik Basu's departure, he was appointed to the position of Chief Economic Advisor in the Indian government, marking his second official posting. He carried out the Economic Survey for India 2012-13 as part of his job.

He was appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, the country's central bank, on September 5, 2013. After Manmohan Singh, he became the youngest individual to occupy this position. The pragmatist finance expert pledged to lower national inflation as soon as he was hired.

During Rajan's three years as RBI Governor, the rupee recovered from dropping, and the country's double-digit inflation rate dropped to 6%. As RBI Governor, he left his post on September 4, 2016. He is now the vice-chairman of the Bank for International Settlements.

Notable Works

Rajan's prediction of the turmoil in the U.S. economy is his most important contribution to the field of economics. Even though he was first referred to as a "Luddite," the economic crisis that struck the U.S. and then Europe between 2008 and 2012 cemented his status as one of history's greatest economists.

During his three years as RBI Governor, Rajan is credited for turning around the weak rupee and driving inflation down from double-digit levels to 6%. On September 4, 2016, he left his position as RBI Governor.

Awards and Achievements Won by Raghuram

In 2003, Rajan was awarded the Fischer Black Prize by the American Finance Association. For their exceptional contributions to the financial industry, economists under the age of forty are given the award.

In 2013, he was awarded the sixth Deutsche Bank Prize for Financial Economics in recognition of his "groundbreaking research work which influenced financial and macro-economic policies around the world."

Individual Life and Legacy of Raghuram

After meeting Radhika Puri, (Raghuram's wife) at IIM-A, Rajan exchanged vows with her, and they now have two kids. Radhika teaches law at "The University of Chicago Law School."

Along with being a die-hard sports and trivia enthusiast, the economist participated in the 2015 Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, among other events.

Facts Related to Raghuram

• His father was a top-ranking IPS officer in his year of 1953.
• He believed his father was a diplomat all of his life.
• When he was younger, he dreamed of being India's Prime Minister.
• He played in the orchestra at his school.
• The Director's Gold Medal was given to him in 1985 for being the greatest all-around student at IIT Delhi.
• He won the Gold Medal at IIM Ahmedabad in 1987.
• "Essays on Banking" was the title of his Ph.D. thesis.
• In 2003, Rajan was awarded the first Fischer Black Prize.
• He was the first person to anticipate the 2008 financial collapse in 2005.
• From October 2003 until December 2006, he was the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Chief Economist.
• In 2008, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister at the time, appointed him as an honorary economic adviser.
• In 2010, he won the Financial Times-Goldman Sachs Best Business Book of the Year Award for his book "Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy."
• On August 10, 2012, he was named Chief Economic Advisor to the Finance Ministry of India.
• He was appointed as the Reserve Bank of India's youngest governor on September 5, 2013.
• Global economists put forth suggestions in 2014 that he may take Christine Lagarde's position as IMF director.
• Raghuram Rajan received the 2014 Best Bank Governor Award from Euromoney Magazine.
• He was included in Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2016.
• His book "I Do What I Do" was released in September 2017. The book's criticism of governmental policies attracted a lot of media attention.
• He said in an interview, "My son believes I am from the Stone Age."
• Raghuram Rajan eats vegetarian food.
• In the world of economics, he is referred to as a "Rockstar" and a "Financial Prophet."
• At the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan on December 14, 2022, he joined Rahul Gandhi.

Controversies Related to Raghuram

In 2005, he presented a controversial paper at the U.S. Federal Reserve in which he expressed doubts about the financial development in riskier parts of the world. This paper received criticism from many economists at the time.

Conclusion

Raghuram Rajan, an Indian economist and financial expert, has made significant contributions to the field of economics. Rajan's career began as an assistant professor at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. From 2003 to 2006, he served as the IMF Economic Counsellor and Director of Research.

During this time, he co-authored the book "Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists: Unleashing the Power of Financial Markets to Create Wealth & Spread Opportunity." In 2010, Rajan's book "Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy" was named the greatest business book of the year. In 2013, he became the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Fischer Black Prize and the Deutsche Bank Prize for Financial Economics.