RBI Clears CS Rajan's Appointment As Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Chairman

Kotak Mahindra Bank stated that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had approved the nomination of CS Rajan on 27 December, who currently serves as an Independent Director of the bank, as a Part-time Chairman. This appointment is set to begin on 1 January 2024 and will run for two years.

CS Rajan joined the Bank's Board of Directors as an Independent Director on 22 October 2022.

"I am deeply humbled and honoured to accept the appointment as Chairman of the Bank and thank the Board for entrusting me with the responsibility to steer the Bank to new heights and increase stakeholder value. I look forward to working collaboratively with the Board and the entire Team," CS Rajan, Independent Director and Non-executive Independent Part-time Chairman of Kotak Mahindra Bank said.

"We thank Prakash Apte for his contribution to the Bank, first as an Independent Director and subsequently as the Chairman of the Bank’s Board. We would like to congratulate CS Rajan on his appointment as Chairman of the Bank’s Board. We are confident that the Bank will benefit immensely from Rajan’s guidance for its next phase of growth," said Dipak Gupta, Managing Director & CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

CS Rajan has nearly 40 years of experience in senior government positions. On 22 October 2022, he was appointed as an Independent Director to the Bank's Board of Directors. He retired as the Chief Secretary of the Government of Rajasthan in 2016. He was a prominent IAS officer from the 1978 batch.

Rajan spent 12 years as a leader in critical infrastructure sectors such as Energy, Highways, Water Resources, and Industry, which included SSI/MSME. He also provided his knowledge in Agriculture and Rural Development for 14 years, as emphasised by the Bank.

Rajan was nominated to the Board of Directors of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) by the Government of India in October 2018. He began as a Director and eventually became Managing Director for three and a half years, followed by a year as Chairman and Managing Director. Following that, he was appointed Non-executive Chairman of IL&FS.

Apte emphasised that Rajan's considerable experience in critical sectors for India's future, such as infrastructure, roads, energy, agriculture, rural development, industry, and commerce, will provide a new perspective to the talks and greatly help the Bank's growth.