New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) The government on Tuesday appointed former Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das as the new RBI Governor, a day after Urjit Patel suddenly resigned.

"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shaktikanta Das, former Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a period of three years," an official order said.

Das, a 1980 batch IAS officer from Tamil Nadu cadre, was a member of the Finance Commission of India.

--IANS vv/vm