The command of the country’s largest private bank is now going into the hands of an experienced person, who had played a big role in bringing the Indian banking system out of the worst crisis. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given official approval to appoint former Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar as the new part-time chairman of HDFC Bank. This responsibility has become effective for the next three years from July 15, 2026. After this approval received under Section 10B(1A)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act 1949, now Rajiv Kumar will give a new direction to the bank.
What is changing in HDFC Bank
HDFC Bank has clarified in the information given to the stock market that after getting the green signal from the Reserve Bank, the appointment process of Rajiv Kumar has been completed. In fact, the bank had informed about this possible change on June 29 itself. The tenure of Keki Mistry, who has been holding the post of interim chairman till now, is coming to an end. However, Mistry will continue to make valuable contributions to the bank’s board as a non-executive director. The bank management has also expressed gratitude for his excellent guidance.
Rajiv Kumar has played the role of troubleshooter
66-year-old Rajeev Kumar has been recognized as a strict and far-sighted administrator in the country. Kumar, a former IAS officer of 1984 batch, took charge of the country’s Financial Services Department between 2017 and 2020. This was the period when the public sector banks of the country were breaking under the burden of huge NPA (bad debts). In such a critical time, he implemented the government’s famous ‘4R strategy’ (Recognition, Solution, Capitalization, Reform). Under this precise strategy, bad debts were identified transparently, the Bankruptcy Act (IBC) was resolved quickly and a record capital of more than Rs 3 lakh crore was infused into public sector banks. Not only this, the historic masterstroke of merging 27 small government banks and converting them into 12 big and strong banks was also taken under his leadership.
Common man’s money made safe
As a bank customer, you will be relieved to know that Rajiv Kumar is the same person who had increased the security guarantee (deposit insurance) of your hard-earned money deposited in banks from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. From taking banking to every village through the framework of Jan Dhan Yojana, his biggest contribution has been in making the access to credit easier for retail and small industries (MSME). He had also created stringent systems to detect frauds in banks by using technology.
Journey from Election Commission to RBI Board
After retiring from the post of Finance Secretary in February 2020, his journey did not stop. As the 25th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), he took over the responsibility of the country’s biggest electoral process. The recently concluded 2024 Lok Sabha elections were held under his supervision, in which a total of 64.2 crore voters, including 31.2 crore women, took part and created a new record. In his four decade long illustrious career, Rajeev Kumar has served in leading institutions like the Central Board of RBI, SBI, NABARD, Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) and Financial Stability Development Council. Now his vast experience will be directly benefited in making the future of HDFC Bank secure and strong.
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