<P> The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India is the chief executive of India's central bank and the ex-officio chairperson of its Central Board of Directors . Indian Rupee currency notes, issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), bear the governor's signature . Since its establishment in 1935 by the British colonial government, the RBI has been headed by 24 governors . The term of office typically runs for 3 years . </P> <P> The inaugural officeholder was the British banker Osborne Smith, while C.D. Deshmukh was the first Indian governor . The bank's 15th governor, Manmohan Singh, later became India's 13th prime minister . The position is currently held by Urjit Patel, who took over from Raghuram Rajan on 4 September 2016 . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> No . </Th> <Th> Name </Th> <Th_colspan="3"> Term of office </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Began </Th> <Th> Ended </Th> <Th> Length </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Osborne Smith </Td> <Td> 1 April 1935 </Td> <Td> 30 June 1937 </Td> <Td> 7002821000000000000 ♠ 2 years, 90 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> James Braid Taylor </Td> <Td> 1 July 1937 </Td> <Td> 17 February 1943 </Td> <Td> 7003205700000000000 ♠ 5 years, 231 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> C.D. Deshmukh </Td> <Td> 11 August 1943 </Td> <Td> 30 June 1949 </Td> <Td> 7003215000000000000 ♠ 5 years, 323 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Benegal Rama Rau </Td> <Td> 1 July 1949 </Td> <Td> 14 January 1957 </Td> <Td> 7003275400000000000 ♠ 7 years, 197 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> K.G. Ambegaonkar </Td> <Td> 14 January 1957 </Td> <Td> 28 February 1957 </Td> <Td> 7001450000000000000 ♠ 45 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 6 </Td> <Td> H.V.R. Iyengar </Td> <Td> 1 March 1957 </Td> <Td> 28 February 1962 </Td> <Td> 7003182500000000000 ♠ 4 years, 364 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 7 </Td> <Td> P.C. Bhattacharya </Td> <Td> 1 March 1962 </Td> <Td> 30 June 1967 </Td> <Td> 7003194700000000000 ♠ 5 years, 121 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 8 </Td> <Td> L.K. Jha </Td> <Td> 1 July 1967 </Td> <Td> 3 May 1970 </Td> <Td> 7003103700000000000 ♠ 2 years, 306 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 9 </Td> <Td> B.N. Adarkar </Td> <Td> 4 May 1970 </Td> <Td> 15 June 1970 </Td> <Td> 7001420000000000000 ♠ 42 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 10 </Td> <Td> S. Jagannathan </Td> <Td> 16 June 1970 </Td> <Td> 19 May 1975 </Td> <Td> 7003179800000000000 ♠ 4 years, 337 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 11 </Td> <Td> N.C. Sen Gupta </Td> <Td> 19 May 1975 </Td> <Td> 19 August 1975 </Td> <Td> 7001920000000000000 ♠ 92 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 12 </Td> <Td> K.R. Puri </Td> <Td> 20 August 1975 </Td> <Td> 2 May 1977 </Td> <Td> 7002621000000000000 ♠ 1 year, 255 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 13 </Td> <Td> M. Narasimham </Td> <Td> 3 May 1977 </Td> <Td> 30 November 1977 </Td> <Td> 7002211000000000000 ♠ 211 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 14 </Td> <Td> I.G. Patel </Td> <Td> 1 December 1977 </Td> <Td> 15 September 1982 </Td> <Td> 7003174900000000000 ♠ 4 years, 288 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 15 </Td> <Td> Manmohan Singh </Td> <Td> 16 September 1982 </Td> <Td> 14 January 1985 </Td> <Td> 7002851000000000000 ♠ 2 years, 120 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 16 </Td> <Td> Amitav Ghosh </Td> <Td> 15 January 1985 </Td> <Td> 4 February 1985 </Td> <Td> 7001200000000000000 ♠ 20 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 17 </Td> <Td> R.N. Malhotra </Td> <Td> 4 February 1985 </Td> <Td> 22 December 1990 </Td> <Td> 7003214700000000000 ♠ 5 years, 321 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18 </Td> <Td> S. Venkitaramanan </Td> <Td> 22 December 1990 </Td> <Td> 21 December 1992 </Td> <Td> 7002730000000000000 ♠ 1 year, 365 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 19 </Td> <Td> C. Rangarajan </Td> <Td> 22 December 1992 </Td> <Td> 21 November 1997 </Td> <Td> 7003179500000000000 ♠ 4 years, 334 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 20 </Td> <Td> Bimal Jalan </Td> <Td> 22 November 1997 </Td> <Td> 6 September 2003 </Td> <Td> 7003211400000000000 ♠ 5 years, 288 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 21 </Td> <Td> Y.V. Reddy </Td> <Td> 6 September 2003 </Td> <Td> 5 September 2008 </Td> <Td> 7003182600000000000 ♠ 4 years, 365 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 22 </Td> <Td> D. Subbarao </Td> <Td> 5 September 2008 </Td> <Td> 4 September 2013 </Td> <Td> 5 years </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 23 </Td> <Td> Raghuram Rajan </Td> <Td> 4 September 2013 </Td> <Td> 4 September 2016 </Td> <Td> 7003109600000000000 ♠ 3 years, 0 days </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 24 </Td> <Td> Urjit Patel </Td> <Td> 4 September 2016 </Td> <Td> Incumbent </Td> <Td> 7002722000000000000 ♠ 1 year, 357 days </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> No . </Th> <Th> Name </Th> <Th_colspan="3"> Term of office </Th> </Tr>

Who had the shortest tenure as governor of reserve bank of india