Urjit Patel: Five things you need to know about new RBI governor

After months of speculation over the appointment of RBI governor, the government announced on Saturday that Urjit Patel will succeed Raghuram Rajan as the central bank's top boss.

The fifty-two-year-old was one of the four deputy governors of RBI and was reappointed in January for another three years in office.

The RBI chief's appointment was made upon the recommendation of the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC) headed by cabinet secretary.

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Here are five things to know about the new RBI governor:

1. Urjit Patel did his BA from the London School of Economics, holds a Doctorate (Ph.D) in Economics from Yale University and an M.Phil from Oxford University.

2. He will start his term when Raghuram Rajan's ends on September 5, 2016. Prior to joining the RBI as deputy governor, Patel was serving as an Advisor (Energy and Infrastructure) at The Boston Consulting Group.

3. Patel has historically been a close aide of Raghuram Rajan. The Manmohan Singh government brought him on board as deputy governor for a period of three years from January 11, 2013. Under Rajan's leadership, Patel has helped shape India's monetary policy.

4. As deputy governor, Patel worked closely with Rajan to control volatile prices in January 2014, targeting consumer inflation over wholesale prices - one of the most significant moves by RBI since India liberalised its economy in 1991.

5. He serves as a Director at Reserve Bank of India and Director of Gujarat Petroleum Limited and National Housing Bank. He has been a Director of State Bank of India since February 6, 2013.

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He serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. Ltd.