Ajay Kumar Choudhary
Independent Director
Shri Ajay Kumar Choudhary is a distinguished central banker with an illustrious career spanning over three decades at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He concluded his dedicated service to the institution as its Executive Director in October 2023. Shri Choudhary has a proven track record and accomplishments in the domain of Banking Regulation, Supervision, FinTech and Payments and Settlement Systems areas in various capacities.
Shri Choudhary is presently a Non-Executive Chairman of the Board and Independent Director of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and its subsidiaries. He is also an Independent Director in the Boards of few more entities and acts as senior advisor to some other firms.
In his multifaceted role at the RBI, Shri Choudhary expertly navigated various responsibilities, including overseeing banking regulation and supervision, currency management, payments and settlement and other critical functions both at the Central Office and Regional Offices. His leadership also extended to key departments such as the FinTech Department and Risk Monitoring Department. Notably, he spearheaded the RBl's developmental and innovative initiatives in critical areas such as the Implementation of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), formulation of a strategic approach towards Crypto Assets, potential regulatory guardrails concerning Fin-Techs, operationalization of Tech-Sprint and regulatory sandboxes, RBI Innovation Hub, and comprehensive oversight over all facets of Fin-Techs. One of Shri Choudhary's significant achievements was his pivotal role in the implementation of platform on frictionless credit (now known as ULI), showcasing his forward-thinking approach to fostering innovation within the financial sector.
Shri Choudhary represented the RBI in different international groups and forums. He headed RBI team for successful conduct of Regulatory Consistency Assessment Program (RCAP) of India conducted by BCBS and was also part of international teams for RCAP and other assignments in different jurisdictions. He also served as Director of Supervision of Bank of Mauritius at Mauritius, with the responsibility for regulation and supervision of Banks, Non-Bank Deposit Taking Institutions and Forex Dealers.
Shri Choudhary's published papers inter-alia included papers on the subject of Countercyclical capital buffers, Capital requirement for sovereign assets, Default Experience of Credit Rating Agencies in India, Corporate Insolvency Regime and its Implications for the Indian Banking system.
His directorship and full-time positions in body corporates are as follows:
National Payments Corporation of India
NPCI International Payments Limited
NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited
NPCI BHIM Services Limited
NPCI Tech Solutions Limited
Truhome Finance Limited
Aurionpro Solutions Limited
ACER Credit Rating Private Limited
Credavenue Private Limited
Bajaj Finance Limited
Aassma Solutions Private Limited