Shaktikanta Das receives award for A+ grade in Central Bank Report Cards 2024 in USA

Shaktikanta Das, the Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on October 26, received award for A+ grade in Central Bank Report Cards 2024, for the second consecutive year.

The award, presented by Global Finance in Washington D.C., USA, recognised RBI Governor's excellent performance and effective leadership in steering India's apex bank through complex economic challenges.

In a social media post on X, RBI posted, "Governor @DasShaktikanta received the award for A+ grade in Central Bank Report Cards 2024, for the second consecutive year. Presented by Global Finance at an event held today in Washington DC, USA."

The Central Bank Report Cards, published annually by Global Finance since 1994, grade the central bank governors of nearly 100 key countries, territories, and districts, as well as the European Union, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Bank of Central African States and the Central Bank of West African States.

Grades are based on an "A+" to "F" scale for success in areas such as inflation control, economic growth goals, currency stability and interest rate management.

"A" represents an excellent performance, down through "F" for outright failure. Along with Das, Denmark's Christian Kettel Thomsen and Switzerland's Thomas Jordan were also accorded an A+ grade.

Brazil's Roberto Campos Neto, Chile's Rosanna Costa, Harvesh Kumar Seegolam of Mauritius, Morocco's Abdellatif Jouahri, South Africa's Lesetja Kganyago and Sri Lanka's Nadalal Weerasinghe were amongst those who received the A grade. European Union's Christine Lagarde was given an A- grade.

"After a difficult 2023, when geopolitical pressures gathered with tight monetary conditions to create a near-stagflationary environment in the eurozone, the central bank has managed to inch much closer to its 2% target with successive consumer price index (CPI) readings under 3% since February of this year, down to 2.4% in August", Global Finance noted on Lagarde's tenure.

US Fed Chairman Jerome Hayden Powell received an A- grade. Per the Global Finance website, "The Fed has debated in excruciating, and at times confusing, detail throughout this year when and whether to cut its benchmark rate from a 23-year high of 5.5%, a level held since July 2023. This September, the Fed finally turned the monetary ship toward a policy of easing, with a 50-basis point cut, which was at the higher end of forecasts."

"Prior to the rate cut, economists agreed that confusion in the markets was a case of bad communication by the Fed, but Powell’s overall handling of policy has been praised. It is difficult to find much fault with the Fed’s approach to policymaking over the past year. The Fed has appropriately changed its tone in response", it continued.

However, it also noted that more-substantial easing in the following months will be crucial to avoid a policy mistake and to secure Powell’s legacy. Powell's term as second-time chair of the Fed Reserve ends on May 15, 2026.