S. Venkitaraman, the eighteenth governor of the Reserve Bank of India, has passed away at the age of 92.

Known for his quick thinking, his career at the helm of the RBI between December 1990 and December 1992 was not short of any action. He assumed charge at a time India was in the middle of a balance of payment crisis.

The country had to pledge its gold to avoid default and was facing an exchange rate crisis. It was under Venkitaraman’s leadership that the central bank had devalued the currency to make Indian exports competitive and to reduce the import burden.

“In my view, if there is one person who showed extraordinary leadership in managing the balance of payments crisis, it was Venkitaramanan as governor of RBI,” said former RBI governor Y.V. Reddy in his memoir.

The aftermath of the balance of payment crisis saw sweeping changes both in the government and the economy but for Venkitaraman, the action was not over. India’s biggest stock market scandal erupted in 1992 when stock broker Harshad Mehta and others were accused of manipulating the government bond market and siphoning off funds from banks to rig stock prices, which ultimately led to reforms in the government securities market.

Before joining the RBI, Venkitaraman had served as the finance secretary for a period of four years from 1985 to 1989.

After he retired from the RBI, he served as the chairman of Ashok Leyland Investment Services, New Tirupur Area Development Corp and Ashok Leyland Finance. He had also served on the boards of RIL, SPIC, Piramal Healthcare, Tamil Nadu Water Investment Co and HDFC.

“S. Venkitaramanan was RBI governor at a most crucial time of our economic history. He made major contributions in industrial development and energy as well,” senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on social media.