Our Leadership Team
Mr. Rajesh Bansal
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
A highly regarded thought leader in the areas of digital financial services and digital infrastructure, Mr. Bansal has nearly three decades of global experience in designing digital IDs, electronic payment products, and cash transfers, to enable inclusive development in multiple Asian and African markets. Prior to joining RBIH, he was a senior adviser at Carnegie India, where he led the center’s Technology and Society program.
Mr Bansal has previously served at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in various capacities, including in areas of technology, payment systems, and financial inclusion. He is one of the key architects of India’s journey from cash to cash-lite by actively promoting policies, strengthening institutions, governance frameworks, and designing new products and solutions for scale and adoption. Mr Bansal was a member of the founding team of Aadhaar and specifically led the design of India’s Direct Benefits Transfer system which is benefiting hundreds of millions of low-income clients. He also played a key role in creating India Stack, digital ID-based infrastructure for a presence less and cashless service delivery platform in India. He has been a member of a number of committees of the Government of India and the RBI.
Mr Bansal is a frequent speaker, moderator, and panellist on financial innovation and inclusion in academic circles, conferences and fintech festivals nationally and internationally. He has authored a number of articles and opinion pieces in leading publications ranging from The Economic Times to The Print. A recipient of the prestigious Golden Jubilee scholarship scheme of the RBI, Mr Bansal holds a Master’s degree from Duke University in International Development Policy, USA.
Mr. Rajesh Bansal
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
A highly regarded thought leader in the areas of digital financial services and digital infrastructure, Mr. Bansal has nearly three decades of global experience in designing digital IDs, electronic payment products, and cash transfers, to enable inclusive development in multiple Asian and African markets. Prior to joining RBIH, he was a senior adviser at Carnegie India, where he led the center’s Technology and Society program.
Mr Bansal has previously served at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in various capacities, including in areas of technology, payment systems, and financial inclusion. He is one of the key architects of India’s journey from cash to cash-lite by actively promoting policies, strengthening institutions, governance frameworks, and designing new products and solutions for scale and adoption. Mr Bansal was a member of the founding team of Aadhaar and specifically led the design of India’s Direct Benefits Transfer system which is benefiting hundreds of millions of low-income clients. He also played a key role in creating India Stack, digital ID-based infrastructure for a presence less and cashless service delivery platform in India. He has been a member of a number of committees of the Government of India and the RBI.
Mr Bansal is a frequent speaker, moderator and panellist on financial innovation and inclusion in academic circles, conferences and fintech festivals nationally and internationally. He has authored a number of articles and opinion pieces in leading publications ranging from The Economic Times to The Print. A recipient of the prestigious Golden Jubilee scholarship scheme of the RBI, Mr Bansal holds a Master’s degree from Duke University in International Development Policy, USA.
Mr. Gopal Natarajan
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)
Mr. Gopal Natarajan is the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub. He brings with him over 35 years of experience in Reserve Bank of India, covering areas such as Regulation and Supervision of Commercial Banks, Co-Operative Banks, Non-Banking Finance Companies, Currency Management, Financial Inclusion and Development, and General Banking.
Mr. Gopal was a Member of Faculty of Reserve Bank of India, CAB, Pune and Reserve Bank former nominee Director on the Board of Tamilnad Mercantile bank.He has been a guest speaker at NIBM; SIBTC Bangalore; Jain Institute of Management; NM Institute of Management; Police Crime Research Institute, Pune; Cyber crime Division of Pune in addition to the ICAI Bangalore Chapter and ICMA Bangalore Chapter
Currently, as CAO of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, he is managing finance, administration, operations, and human resources.
Mr. Gopal Natarajan
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)
Mr. Gopal Natarajan is the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub. He brings with him over 35 years of experience in Reserve Bank of India, covering areas such as Regulation and Supervision of Commercial Banks, Co-Operative Banks, Non-Banking Finance Companies, Currency Management, Financial Inclusion and Development, and General Banking.
Mr. Gopal was a Member of Faculty of Reserve Bank of India, CAB, Pune and Reserve Bank former nominee Director on the Board of Tamilnad Mercantile bank.He has been a guest speaker at NIBM; SIBTC Bangalore; Jain Institute of Management; NM Institute of Management; Police Crime Research Institute, Pune; Cyber crime Division of Pune in addition to the ICAI Bangalore Chapter and ICMA Bangalore Chapter
Currently, as CAO of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, he is managing finance, administration, operations, and human resources.
Mr. Rakesh Ranjan
Chief Digital Officer (CDO)
Mr. Rakesh Ranjan is the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) of Reserve Bank Innovation Hub.
In his role as CDO, Rakesh will play a critical role in driving innovation and fostering a culture of digital transformation within RBIH and significant value to our team with his deep knowledge of emerging technologies, his experience in leading successful digital transformation projects, and his passion for innovation.
He is an experienced IT professional with more than 25 years of experience and a career marked with repeated success in managing large IT programs, driving IT strategies, advising clients across the Development Sector, Financial Inclusion, Digital IDs, Presales, Business process design, and Enterprise Technology Architecture.
During the last decade, Rakesh has worked on key development sector projects driven by the Government of India, World Bank, ADB, and other multi-lateral donor agencies, both within India and internationally in the areas of Digital IDs (Aadhaar, PhilSys), Financial Inclusion, FinTech, RegTech, Payments, Mobile Money, and Skill Development.
Mr. Rakesh Ranjan
Chief Digital Officer (CDO)
Mr. Rakesh Ranjan is the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) of Reserve Bank Innovation Hub.
In his role as CDO, Rakesh will play a critical role in driving innovation and fostering a culture of digital transformation within RBIH and significant value to our team with his deep knowledge of emerging technologies, his experience in leading successful digital transformation projects, and his passion for innovation.
He is an experienced IT professional with more than 25 years of experience and a career marked with repeated success in managing large IT programs, driving IT strategies, advising clients across the Development Sector, Financial Inclusion, Digital IDs, Presales, Business process design, and Enterprise Technology Architecture.
During the last decade, Rakesh has worked on key development sector projects driven by the Government of India, World Bank, ADB, and other multi-lateral donor agencies, both within India and internationally in the areas of Digital IDs (Aadhaar, PhilSys), Financial Inclusion, FinTech, RegTech, Payments, Mobile Money, and Skill Development.
