Dr. Bimal Jalan (born 1941) was the Governor of Reserve Bank of India for two terms. The Government of India reappointed Dr. Jalan as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, first for a period of two years commencing November 22, 2000 to November 21, 2002 and again for a further period of two years commencing from November 22, 2002 and ending November 21, 2004. Dr.Y.Venugopal Reddy replaced Dr. Jalan however, on September 6, 2003.

An economist by profession. Dr. Jalan has held several administrative and advisory positions in the Government of India. He was the Chief Economic Adviser to the Union Government in the 1980s, Banking Secretary between 1985 and 1989 and Finance Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. As Finance Secretary, he was also on the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India. He has also been the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister between January 1991 and September 1992. Dr. Jalan has served as the Executive Director representing India on the Boards of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. At the time of his appointment as the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Dr. Jalan was the Member-Secretary, Planning Commission in New Delhi.

Dr. Jalan was educated in the Presidency College, Calcutta, Cambridge and Oxford Universities. Dr. Jalan has authored

• India's Economic Crisis: The Way Ahead (Oxford University Press, 1991) and
• edited The Indian Economy: Problems and Prospects (Penguin, 1993).
• India's Economic Policy: Preparing for the Twenty-first Century (Viking, 1996) examines some of the critical policy choices for India at the present juncture.