Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, December 2025 — The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed Usha Janakiraman as an Executive Director (ED) with effect from December 1, 2025, further strengthening the central bank’s top leadership team. With this elevation, Janakiraman joins the apex executive cadre at RBI at a time when banking supervision, risk analytics, and regulatory oversight are central to safeguarding India’s financial stability.
According to RBI’s organisational overview and public disclosures, Executive Directors head key policy and supervisory departments from the Central Office in Mumbai, working closely with the Governor and Deputy Governors on regulation, supervision and systemic risk. In her new role, Janakiraman will be responsible for the Department of Supervision (Risk, Analytics and Vulnerability Assessment), a critical function that tracks emerging risks in the banking system and strengthens the supervisory framework for regulated entities.
Prior to her elevation as Executive Director, Usha Janakiraman served as Chief General Manager-in-Charge (CGM-i-C) in the Department of Regulation at RBI’s Central Office in Mumbai. In that capacity, she was part of the senior leadership group shaping regulatory policies for banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), a mandate that has been central to the post-liberalisation evolution of India’s banking framework.
A career central banker with over three decades of experience at the Reserve Bank of India, Janakiraman has grown through the institution’s internal leadership pipeline. Over these years, she has worked in multiple roles at the central bank, building deep familiarity with RBI’s regulatory philosophy, supervisory processes and policy implementation across different economic cycles.
Her long tenure at RBI has coincided with major structural shifts in India’s financial sector — from technology-driven transformation and digital payments to an expanding non-bank financial ecosystem. Colleagues and observers note that leaders emerging from RBI’s regulatory and supervisory departments are expected to combine prudential oversight with a strong understanding of innovation, risk analytics and evolving global standards—capabilities that are particularly pertinent to her current portfolio in supervision. (Analytical inference based on RBI’s published departmental roles.)
Earlier in 2025, Janakiraman was empanelled for promotion to the post of Executive Director for the panel year 2025, indicating her position in RBI’s succession and leadership planning framework. That empanelment has now culminated in her formal appointment as Executive Director, underscoring the central bank’s practice of recognising long-serving internal leaders for its top executive roles.
A Chartered Accountant (CA) by training, Usha Janakiraman brings a strong technical grounding in accounts, audit and financial reporting to her new role. This combination of professional qualification and long regulatory experience is expected to support RBI’s continued focus on robust supervision, risk-sensitive oversight and data-driven monitoring of India’s banking system.
About Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the central bank of India, established on 1 April 1935 under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Initially set up as a shareholder-owned institution, it was nationalised in 1949 and is now fully owned by the Government of India. RBI is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, and is responsible for regulating the issue of banknotes, maintaining monetary stability, managing foreign exchange reserves and acting as banker to the government and the banking system.
Over time, RBI’s mandate has expanded to include financial stability, regulation and supervision of banks and NBFCs, oversight of payment and settlement systems, and promotion of financial inclusion. Through its policy measures, regulatory frameworks and supervisory actions, RBI plays a pivotal role in sustaining confidence in the Indian financial system and supporting the country’s broader economic growth objectives.
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