The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has authorized the nomination of CS Rajan as Kotak Mahindra Bank's part-time chairman. The appointment is for two years and will begin on January 1, 2024.

The nomination of CS Rajan as part-time chairman of the bank comes as the tenure of the bank's current part-time chairman, Prakash Apte, expires on December 31.

CS Rajan has over 40 years of experience in government positions and was nominated as an Independent Director on the board of Kotak Mahindra on October 22, 2022. He was an IAS officer from the 1978 batch who retired as Chief Secretary of the Rajasthan government in 2016.

The veteran worked in agricultural and rural development for 14 years after serving in senior capacities in areas such as energy, transportation, water resources, and industry, including MSME. CS Rajan worked in human resources, finance, and general administration during his 38-year tenure as an IAS.

After retiring from active service in 2016, CS Rajan served as Deputy Chairman of Rajasthan's Chief Ministers' Advisory Council for two and a half years before being appointed by the government to the board of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS), first as director and then as managing director, for three and a half years. He was then appointed chairman and managing director for a year before becoming a non-executive director of IL&FS. Outgoing part-time chairman Prakash Apte stated that CS Rajan's knowledge across sectors will add a fresh perspective to the discussions and contribute to the bank's growth.

"We thank Mr Prakash Apte for his contribution to the bank, first as an independent director and then as chairman of the board," stated Dipak Gupta, Managing Director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank. We congratulate Mr. CS Rajan on his appointment as chairman of the bank's board of directors. We are certain that Mr Rajan's direction for the bank's next phase of growth would be extremely beneficial."

Meanwhile, Kotak Mahindra Bank's shares closed 0.86 percent higher at Rs 1,902.60. The stock has gained 4.20 percent in 2023, trailing the benchmark BSE Sensex's 17.77 percent gain during the same period.