Former ISRO chief S Somnath appointed to RBI board; Anand Mahindra re-appointed

The Centre on Thursday appointed S Somnath, former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), to the central board of the Reserve Bank of India for a four-year term.

Somnath, who retired from Isro in January 2025, has been appointed as a part-time, non-official director on the central board.

The appointment is effective from August 20, 2026, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, according to an official statement.

The aerospace engineer, who has served the space programme in different capacities, was appointed as the chancellor of the Chanakya University, a liberal arts varsity near Bengaluru, after retiring from ISRO.

The government has also re-appointed Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra as a part-time, non-official director on the RBI's central board for four years with effect from August 20, 2026, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Other members of the central board include Revathy Iyer, a retired officer from the Indian Audit & Accounts Service, who went on to become the Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General, Government Accounts, and Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General of think tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).

Governor Sanjay Malhotra, Deputy Governors Swaminathan J, Poonam Gupta, SC Murmu and Rohit Jain, economic affairs secretary Anuradha Thakur and financial services secretary Sanjay Lohia are also on the central board.