HDFC Bank gets RBI nod to appoint Rajiv Kumar as part-time chairman

on Wednesday said it has received approval from the (RBI) to appoint former Financial Services Secretary, as its for a three-year term, effective July 15, 2026.

The appointment has been approved under Section 10B(1A)(i) of the Act, 1949, the said in a stock exchange filing. Rajiv Kumar’s appointment follows the bank’s application to the RBI and an earlier intimation made on June 29.

The bank also thanked for his guidance and contributions during his tenure as interim part-time chairman. Mistry will continue to serve as a non-executive, non-independent director on HDFC Bank’s board.

Kumar has been a public policy leader and financial sector reformer and is widely credited with playing a key role in revitalising India’s banking and financial system during a period of significant stress between 2017 and 2020.

Kumar has worked towards strengthening governance, risk management and regulatory oversight across banks by institutionalising specialised monitoring of large exposures and introducing technology-driven risk assessment systems.

Who is Rajiv Kumar?

Rajiv Kumar, 66, is a 1984-batch former IAS officer who retired as India’s Finance Secretary in February 2020 after leading the Department of Financial Services between 2017 and 2020. Following his retirement, he briefly served as chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB).

During his tenure at the Department of Financial Services, Kumar oversaw reforms aimed at cleaning up the banking sector at a time when public sector banks were grappling with high non-performing assets (NPAs), weak capital positions and governance challenges. He spearheaded the government’s “4R strategy”—Recognition, Resolution, Recapitalisation and Reforms—which focused on transparent NPA recognition, faster resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, capital infusion of over ₹3 lakh crore into public sector banks, and consolidation of 27 state-run lenders into 12 entities.

Kumar also led measures to strengthen banking governance and risk management, including tighter fraud monitoring, technology-driven risk assessment, enhanced oversight of large loans and raising deposit insurance coverage from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh. He also pushed financial inclusion under the Jan Dhan framework, expanded credit to retail, agriculture and MSMEs, and implemented reforms to strengthen the NBFC sector and public sector banks through the EASE agenda.

He later served as the 25th Chief Election Commissioner of India and oversaw the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which recorded participation of around 642 million voters, including about 312 million women electors.

Over the course of his career, Kumar has also served on or chaired several key financial institutions and committees, including the RBI’s Central Board, the Financial Stability and Development Council, the Bank Board Bureau, the boards of State Bank of India and NABARD, and committees on the RBI’s economic capital framework and the restructuring of NITI Aayog.