The Centre on Tuesday appointed Shaktikanta Das, a member of the 15th Finance Commission, the new governor of the Reserve Bank of India, The Hindu reported. Former Governor Urjit Patel had resigned on Monday citing personal reasons.

Das will have a three-year tenure as the central bank governor. He is a retired Indian Administrative Services officer, and has previously served as the revenue secretary and the economic affairs secretary in the Ministry of Finance.

Patel is the first RBI governor since 1990 to step down from the post prematurely. Patel’s tenure was slated to end in September 2019. His resignation came days before the RBI’s crucial meeting on December 14.

Speculation over Patel’s resignation began last month after a rift between the Centre and the central bank became public. Addressing a press conference after the release of the monetary policy last week, Patel refused to answer questions about the central bank’s spat with the government.