compiled by

rahul kumar

THE HINDU REVIEW: CURRENT AFFAIRS JANUARY 2013

RBI cut the Repo, Reverse Repo and CRR by 25 basis point. RBI has scaled down the projection for GDP growth for the current year, from 5.8 per cent to 5.5 per cent, and for the wholesale price inflation in March 2013, from 7.5 per cent to 6.8 per cent. a. Bank Rate 8.75 % (Reduced 25 basis point) b. Cash Reserve Ratio 4 % (Reduced 25 bps) c. Statutory Liquidity Ratio 23 % (Unchanged) d. Repo Rate 7.75 % (Reduced 25 bps) e. Reverse Repo Rate 6.75 % (Reduced 25 bps) f. Marginal Standing Rate - 8.75 % (Reduced 25 bps) 2. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed established real estate developers and housing finance companies to raise up to $1 billion through external commercial borrowings. 3. India will pay more to the United Nations after the General Assembly approved a five per cent increase to the world body's budget for 2012-13 to $5.4 billion. India's payments would increase 24 per cent, taking its budget share from 0.5 to 0.66 per cent. 4. First National Biodiversity Congress (NBC 2012) held in Thiruvananthapuram. 5. IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was conferred the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice for 2012. 6. Union government scaled down the launch of its ambitious direct cash transfer scheme to 20 districts, instead of 43 as planned. It will cover a select 26 schemes such as educational scholarship for SC/ST and OBC, and widow pension. Food, fertilizers, diesel and kerosene have already been kept out. 7. A.E. Muthunayagam, will receive the prestigious Aryabhatta award, instituted by the Astronautical Society of India (ASI), for 2010 and V.K. Saraswat will receive the award for 2011. They have been selected for their achievements in rocketry. 8. Pakistans decision to grant India the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status will not come into effect from the New Year. 9. Bhakti Sharma is the youngest in the world to have crossed seven seas, including four oceans; is only the third person in the world to have swum across the Arctic Ocean. 10. The Reserve Bank of India said that the Current Account Deficit during the second quarter (July to September) of 2012-13 increased to 5.4 per cent. 11. Indias external debt stood at $365.30 billion as at September 30, 2012, up $20 billion over the level at 1. March, 2012, due to higher NRI deposits, shortterm debt and commercial borrowings. 12. State Bank of India (SBI) has launched State Bank MobiCash Easy, a mobile wallet or a pre-paid account which offers facilities such as fund transfer, bill payment, balance inquiry, mini statement, mobile top-ups and DTH recharge to name a few. 13. Eight core industries logged a sluggish 1.8 per cent growth in November this year as compared to 7.8 per cent growth registered in the corresponding month of the previous year. The eight core industries are coal, crude oil, natural gas, petroleum refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity.

important banking abbreviations

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14. The Ministry of Home Affairs has formed a special task force to look into the issues of womens safety in the capital every fortnight. The 13-member body, to be headed by the Home Secretary, will also regularly review the functioning of the Delhi Police. 15. Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir will inaugurate the first of the five fast track courts at the Saket court complex. 16. The ban on sale of gutka and tobacco-based pan masala came into effect in Uttarakhand from January 1. 17. M.Y.S. Prasad has become Director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), the spaceport from where all ISRO rockets are launched. 18. Iran is holding one of its most ambitious military exercises Velayat-91 near the Strait of Hormuz. 19. Supreme Court dismissed the Gujarat State governments appeal and upheld R.A. Mehtas appointment to the post of Lokayukta in Gujarat. 20. Thousands of villagers from around the proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant (JNPP) site in Maharashtras Ratnagiri district launched a jail bharo agitation demanding scrapping of the 9,900 MW plant. 21. U.S. Congress passed the fiscal cliff deal ending fears of a steep hike in taxes on American citizens. Fiscal cliff was referred to the economic effects that would have triggered tax increases, spending cuts and reduction in the U.S. budget deficit beginning 2013. 22. The Prime Minister-appointed Rangarajan Committee has suggested mandating a price of domestically-produced natural gas at an average of international hub prices and cost of imported LNG. 23. The number of mobile Internet users in India is expected to nearly double and hit 165 million by March 2015, up from the present 87 million mobile surfers, according to Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). 24. The government announced the constitution of the 14th Finance Commission under the chairmanship of former RBI Governor Y. V. Reddy. The fivemember panel is to submit its report by October 31, 2014. 25. M.S. Gopalakrishnan legendary violinist known for his mastery of both the Carnatic and Hindustani systems of classical music passed away after a brief illness. 26. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has announced appointment of a task force headed by Subodh Bhargava that will study and make recommendations for creating a safe environment for women. 27. Reserve Bank of India Governor D. Subbarao has asserted that central banks across the globe need to be independent in making monetary policy decisions in the wake of emerging global scenario.

28. A committee headed by Prof Ravindra H. Dholakia was set up to suggest measures to lower the high costs of Air Indias operations and improve utilisation of resources 29. The former Pakistan cricket team captain, Javed Miandad, has cancelled his visit to Delhi to watch the last one-day match in the ongoing series. 30. Mr. Purryag is on a week-long visit to India for attending Pravasi Bharatiya Divas sammelan held in Kochi. 31. Wei Wei will be next new Ambassador of China to India. Mr. Wei replaces Zhang Yan. 32. After the success of the Pinaka multiple rocket launcher, ordnance factories are now developing two more of its variants. 33. The mission to Mars would take place as scheduled in October 22. Mission would be launched with the help of ISROs workhorse PSLV XL. 34. IRDA is likely to come up with Bancassurance guidelines by the first week of February. 35. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has cancelled the visit of a parliamentary delegation led by her to Namibia to attend a Commonwealth Speakers conference during January 10-13. 36. Noted Bengali actor Haradhan Bandopadhyay passed away in a hospital after a brief illness. 37. A national cooperative fair started in Jaipur on January 17. 38. Justice B.N. Srikrishna committee For Creation of Telangana State. 39. Work on the worlds largest solar telescope is likely to commence in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir by the end of this year. 40. Centre has effected a five per cent cut in the Rs.1.93-lakh-crore defence budget for this financial year. The cut is estimated to be around Rs.10,000 crore, Defence Ministry sources said. 41. Former diplomat, artist, writer and freedom fighter, Madanjeet Singh, a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador since 2000, passed away in Beaulieu sur Mer in France. 42. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone for the integrated refinery expansion and modernisation projects of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. in Kochi. It will be largest public sector refinery in India. 43. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) withdrew support to the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)-led coalition government, reducing it to a minority in the State Assembly. Chief Minister Arjun Munda submitting his resignation to Governor Syed Ahmed. 44. Justice D.K. Jain has been appointed Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India. 45. The government is planning a single, toll-free helpline number across India to help women in distress.

46. A state-of-the-art data centre of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) would soon come up at Manesar in Haryana. 47. RBI said non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) operating as infrastructure finance companies (IFCs) can now avail themselves of overseas borrowings up to 75 per cent of their owned funds without its approval. 48. LIC Housing Finance has launched a new home loan product called Bhagyalakshmi for women home seekers. 49. Pakistani troops have crossed the LoC and killed two soldiers of the Indian Army in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch, 200 Kms from Jammu. 50. India has rejected Pakistans proposal for a United Nations probe into the chain of killings along the Line of Control (LoC). 51. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will implement the Rs.5,182-crore Kochi Metro Rail project with E. Sreedharan as its Principal Adviser. 52. President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the honorary rank of Suprabal Jana Sewa Shree of the Indian Army on General Gaurav Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, Chief of the Army Staff of Nepal. 53. Indian-origin politician Halimah Yacob (58) is set to become the first woman Speaker of Singapores Parliament. 54. Fitch and S&P affirmed the country at BBB-, the lowest investment grade rating. Moodys has a stable outlook on its comparable Baa3 rating for India. 55. Railway Minister P.K. Bansal announced hike two paise a km in the basic fare for second class ordinary (suburban) passengers to 10 paise a km for AC chair car and AC first class in passenger fares. 56. President Pranab Mukherjee distributed the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards to 15 persons. The awardees included Mauritius President Rajkeswur Purryag, who was the chief guest at the inaugural of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. 57. The Supreme Court has rejected the Sahara groups plea to review the August 31, 2012 order by a Bench which directed it to deposit Rs. 17, 400 crore with 15 per cent interest with the Securities and Exchange Board of India within three months. 58. Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos scored once again in its 34th launch off Visakhapatnam, hitting a decommissioned vessel with accuracy with a range of 290 Km. 59. India is expected to grow at a higher rate of 6.7 per cent in 2013-14 according to ratings agency CRISIL. The Indian economy will grow at an estimated 5.5 per cent this fiscal. 60. Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri has bagged an Oscar nomination for Life of Pi. 61. The Election Commission announced elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland.

62. President Pranab Mukherjee presented the Census gold Medals to Dr. C. Chandramouli, RegistrarGeneral and Census Commissioner of India. 63. The UPA government launched portability of LPG connections in Chandigarh. The service would be extended to 25 more districts in the next fiscal. 64. The Sri Lankan Parliament impeached Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. 65. Japans new government unveiled a $226.5-billion stimulus plan in the latest bid to boost its economy. 66. National Green Tribunal has restrained all builders in Noida and Greater Noida from extracting any quantity of underground water for purposes of construction or otherwise till the next date of hearing. 67. First International Tourism Mart that focuses on promoting tourism activities and travel in the North-East region, will be held in Guwahati from January 18 to 20. 68. Renowned Assamese poet Sameer Tanti has been awarded the prestigious Assam Valley Literary Award for the year 2012. 69. Renowned nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar was awarded Maharashtra Bhooshan. 70. Veteran Actor-director Kamal Haasans production house Rajkamal Films International has moved fair trade regulator Competition Commission against some theatre associations for allegedly restricting the release of his film Vishwaroopam. 71. Seeking to cash in on the worldwide popularity of Life of Pi , which has been shot in Puducherry and Munnar in Kerala, the Union Tourism Ministry has decided to launch a full-fledged Land of Pi campaign to woo tourists. 72. R.K. Dubey has assumed charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of Canara Bank. 73. The government has written to Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers to set up fast track courts to try heinous offences against women and children, said Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar. 74. Government announced the postponement of the implementation of the controversial GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rules) by two years to April 1, 2016. 75. Inflation based on WPI declined to a three-year low of 7.18 per cent in December. However, CPI rose for the third successive month in December at 10.56 per cent. 76. All India Congress Committee (AICC) organized a chintan shivir in Jaipur. 77. India and China have agreed to hold their first joint military exercise in five years and to expand exchanges between their armies, navies and air forces. 78. Hours after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned that business as usual was not possible with Pakistan in the wake of the January 8 incident on the Line of Control in which two Indian soldiers were killed. India backed from its visa on arrival for

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Pakistani senior citizens and the Hockey Federation decided that nine Pakistani hockey players sent home. Pakistan plunged into a political crisis with the Supreme Court ordering the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food and Consumer Affairs has suggested that food entitlements under the National Food Security Act be made available to 67 per cent of the population including 75 rural and 50 per cent urban. It will have inclusion and exclusion categories. Sensex crossed the 20000-mark. Vice-President Hamid Ansari visited Vietnam. India and Norway have signed the second phase of the Norway-India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) on reducing infant and maternal mortality. It will run from 2013 to 2017. India and the United States have joined hands to improve agricultural productivity and innovation in the African countries. Following the decision of Europe, the U.S. and Japan to put Boeing 787 Dreamliners out of action, Air India announced grounding of all six sophisticated aircraft operating inside and outside the country. Oil marketing companies (OMCs) have announced a marginal hike in diesel price of 45 paise a litre. The OMCs are likely to make diesel available to all bulk consumers at the market rate. Saina Nehwal regained 2nd in world ranking. Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and the Centre have agreed to construct an access-controlled Delhi-Ludhiana Expressway at an estimated cost of Rs. 20,000 crore. This will be highway after Vadodara-Mumbai and the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway. President Pranab Mukherjee imposed Presidents rule in Jharkhand. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to suggest regulations for the local channels. The government has enhanced the cap on supply of subsidised cylinders from 6 to 9. United Nations IAEA team returned from Tehran without sealing a long-sought deal on Parchin nuclear site of Iran. Chinas economy has shown signs of a rebound by registering 7.9 per cent growth in the last quarter of the year. United Nations has estimated the Indian economy to grow by 6.1 per cent in 2013, marking a recovery from the decade-old slowest pace of 5.5 per cent in 2012. Ved Prakash has been appointed as UGC Chairman. The former ISRO chairman, U.R. Rao, is all set to join the prestigious international Satellite Hall of Fame on March 19.

97. The government has made over 3.5 crore existing post office accounts ready for its new Aadhaarlinked cash transfer scheme. 98. Delegations from 140 countries agreed to adopt a UN treaty limiting the use and emission of mercury. The treaty has been named the Minamata Convention on Mercury. 99. World Economic Forum (WEF) held at Davos in Switzerland. 100. State Bank of India (SBI) announced that it would get Rs.3,004 crore as part of the governments capital infusion plan for the current fiscal. 101. Site work for India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project, which is coming up along the West Bodi Hills in Theni district in Tamil Nadu, is set to begin in February. 102. The Russian Navy has begun its biggest war games in the high seas in the Mediterranean and Black seas. 103. The Union Government raised the import duty on gold and platinum from 4% to 6% to curb imports of the precious metals and contain the widening current account deficit (CAD). 104. The Government also announced its decision to link the Gold ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) with Gold Deposit schemes as a measure to increase the supply of physical gold in the market without resorting to imports. 105. The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and the States on a writ petition filed by the Indian Banks Association for a direction to issue guidelines to the trial courts for summary trial of over 38 lakh cheque bouncing cases. 106. Delhi police announced that Zero First Information Reports (FIRs) may be registered on the basis of a womans statement at any police station irrespective of jurisdiction. 107. Online filing of FIRs will be made possible only upon the implementation of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), an ambitious Rs. 2,000 crore project of the Home Ministry. 108. The Union Government has ordered a freeze of all Bilateral Investment Protection Agreements (BIPA) negotiations till a review of the model text is carried out and completed. 109. BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh Rajnath Singh was elected as Party President. 110. On the eve of Netaji Subhash Chandra Boses birth anniversary 23 January, the West Bengal government decided to give the heritage status to his ancestral house at Kodalia in South 24 Parganas district in West Bangal. 111. The gender imbalance in China has remained at an alarmingly high ratio of 117 newborn boys for 100 girls in 2012. 112. The Justice Verma Committee formed to look into crimes against women ruled against recommending

death penalty. It also did not favour lowering the age of a juvenile from 18 to 16. Kamal Haasans much-awaited Vishwaroopam was banned for two weeks in Tamil Nadu. Screening of Kamal Haasan film Vishwaroopam, has been suspended in Sri Lanka also. 113. The Justice J.S. Verma Committee has recommended review of the continuance of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in the context of extending legal protection to women in conflict areas. 114. British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged an in-out referendum on Britains membership of the European Union (EU) if his party won the next general election in 2015. A referendum would be held latest by 2017. 115. Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley was sentenced to 35 years in prison by a U.S. court for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. 116. A British human rights lawyer Ben Emmerson is to lead a U.N. inquiry into the legality of American drone attacks and their impact on civilians in Pakistan, Afghanistan and several other countries. 117. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) notified the enhanced limit of investing in government securities (G-Secs) by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and long-term investors by $5 billion to $25 billion from $20 billion. It also hiked the investment limit in corporate bonds by these entities by $5 billion $50 billion from $45 billion. 118. The King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Wangchuk was the chief guest of 64th Republic Day. 119. American Senators have introduced a legislation in the name of Malala Yousafzai to provide scholarship to girls from Pakistan. 120. The Indian tea industry has finally breached the one billion kg-mark in production. 121. Author Jeet Thayil has won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature-2013 for his debut novel Narcopolis 122. State Bank of India (SBI) will next month open its second branch in China. 123. The Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IJCCI) is organising a two-day conference on SME (small and medium enterprise) in Chennai. 124. India's 33 per cent growth in steel production in the last five years was second only to China among the top-five producing nations. 125. ASSOCHAM has asked the government to remove the ban on foreign direct investment in retail ecommerce business. 126. CII Global Partnership Summit-2013 held in Agra. 127. India test fired 700 Km K-15 sub-marine missile form Visakhapatnam coast. It reached its full range of 700 km. Missile is now ready for integration with INS Arihant, the indigenously-built nuclear-powered submarine. India is the fifth country after United States, France, Russia and China to have underwater missile capability. The hypersonic

Shourya missile is the land version of the K-15 missile. 128. A former Prime Minister Milos Zeman staged a big return to power by winning the Czech Republics first directly elected presidential vote. 129. Chairman of Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) C Rangarajan have underlined the need for imposing higher rates of taxes on super rich. 130. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) pegged India's economic growth rate in 2013 at 5.9 per cent and projected a higher growth of 6.4 per cent next year. 131. As per the UN 'World Economic Situation and Prospects 2013, India's economic growth is projected to grow at a slower pace of 6.1 per cent this year. 132. India has been ranked as the 119th freest country in the world out of 177 in the 2013 index of economic freedom, according to a report. 133. Canada will be a partner country at the 6th Global Investor's Summit, Vibrant Gujarat from January 1113, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. 134. Three financial sectors reforms laws Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill, Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012 and The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012 got the President's assent. 135. Describing the Public Distribution System as the most corrupt system in the country, the Supreme Court-appointed Central Vigilance Committee headed by Justice D P Wadhwa has recommended abolition of fair price shops (FPS) being run by private individuals. 136. Gujarat has topped the list of 20 large states in terms of economic freedom, governance and inclusive growth in 'Economic Freedom of the States of India 2012' which was released by former RBI Governor. Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh are also in top three. 137. The Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy, 2013 unveiled. India has target to be in among the top five global scientific powers by 2020. 138. As part of consolidation in RRBs segment, 25 such entities have been merged into 10. As a result, the number of RRBs has reduced from 82 as on April 2012 to 67 in the first week of January. A panel headed by RBI Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty decided to recapitalise RRBs. 139. Bank customers will get 26-digit International Bank Account Number (IBAN) in place of the existing account numbers if the Reserve Bank approves the proposals submitted by its technical committee on uniform routing code and account number structure. This scheme specifies an IBAN with sufficiently larger length of 26 digits (total length 26 = 2 for country code + 2 for check digits + 4 for bank code + 18 for account number).

140. The Reserve Bank has extended the date for implementation of Basel III by three months to April 1. 141. Major Abup J Manjali of the Rashtriya Rifles was selected for the award of Kirti Chakra. 142. At the 58th Idea Filmfare Awards, Barfi, grabbed seven filmfare awards while, Kahaani bagged five awards. The award for the Best Actor was given to Ranbir Kapoor for Barfi. Vidya Balan, on the other hand was adjudged as the Best Actress for Kahaani. Barfi was also awarded with the Best Film award, while Kahaanis director Sujoy Ghosh won Best Director award. The lifetime achievement award was given to Yash Chopra posthumously. 143. Malala Yousafzai received France's Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women's Freedom in Paris. 144. Irelands prestigious Tipperary International Peace Prize for 2012 was awarded to Malala Yousafzai. 145. The Election Commission of India celebrated the 3rd National Voters Day across the country on 25 January 2013. The theme for the 3rd NVD is Inclusion. 146. 24 January is celebrated as the National Girl Child Day every year by the Government of India. 147. The three-day 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) started in Kochi on 7 January 2013. The organizing partner of this year summit is IndoCanada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC). 148. India successfully test-fired 290-km range supersonic cruise missile BrahMos from a naval warship off the coast of Vishakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal. 149. Uddhav Thackeray was elected as the Party President for Shiv Sena. 150. Rahul Gandhi was appointed at the position of party Vice-President of Congress at the Chintan Shivir organised at Jaipur in January 2013. 151. World Economic Forum held in Davos. 152. Indian-American Srikanth Srinivasan re-nominated by US President Barack Obama as Federal Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit. 153. Former South Africa fast bowler, Neil Adcock died. 154. Padma Bhushan M.S. Gopalakrishnan, the Violin maestro died. 155. Nitin Gadkari resigned from his post as the BJP President on 22 January 2013. After his resignation, Rajnath Singh was appointed as the party chief. 156. Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood superstar topped the inaugural Forbes India Celebrity 100 list. Second on the list was Salman Khan and MS Dhoni followed in the third position. 157. The Election Commission (EC) of India announced Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom as the National Icons to help promote, voter participation in India. 158. Kalyan Singh merged his Jan Kranti Party with Bhartiya Janta Party.

159. Sunmeet Kaur Sawhney emerged as the first woman to win 5 crore rupees on the TV game show Kaun Banega Crorepati 6 (KBC). 160. Mukesh Ambani is the 18th richest person of the world as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Mexican telecommunication tycoon Carlos Slim was the richest person of the world in 2012. Bill Gates was on 2nd place. 161. Switzerland emerged as best place to be born in 2013, as per the survey held by the Economist Intelligence. India was ranked 66th. 162. The 23-year old para-medical student who was gangraped in New Delhi on 16 December 2012 passed away in Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on 29 December 2012. The victim died due to multiple organ failure and severe injuries to her brain and body. 163. 4th World Telugu Conference held at Tirupati of Andhra Pradesh. 164. Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi on 8 January 2013 inaugurated the biennial Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors meet. 165. The Vaishnodevi Shrine Board has got the go-ahead from the Centre for minting non-circulation commemorative coins of Rs.5 and Rs.10 denomination on the eve of completion of 25 years by the Board. 166. Krivak-II class stealth frigate INS Tarkash arrived at the Western Naval Command headquarters in Mumbai. It was constructed at the Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad in Russia. 167. Hira Lal Sibal, known as the living legend of law and father of Union Minister Kapil Saibal, passed away. 168. Urjit Patel took charge as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Although the central bank has not announced new portfolio's, Patel is seen to be taking charge of the monetary policy department, earlier headed by Subir Gokarn, whom he succeeds at RBI.