The government has appointed K J Udeshi as the central bank's third deputy governor, a statement from the Reserve Bank of India said on Tuesday.

The other two deputy governors are Rakesh Mohan and Vepa Kamesam.

Udeshi, who fills the slot after G P Muniappan retired on May 31, would hold charge till October 12, 2005 when she attains the age of 62 or until further orders, RBI said in a release.

Before her appointment as deputy governor, she had stints in the central bank's exchange control, internal administration and human resource departments.

Born in 1943, Udeshi joined RBI in 1965 and rose from the ranks to be appointed as executive director in 2001, it said.

She is a post-graduate in economics and holds a diploma in bank management from National Institute of Bank Management and is a certificated associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers, it said.

Udeshi had a long stint in exchange control and RBI's internal administration and human resources departments.

She has been an RBI nominee on the State Bank of India board, a member of governing board of the National Institute of Bank Management and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection.

She has also been a co-chairperson on sub-group on banking and finance, Indo-Russian Inter-governmental commission for trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural co-operation, it added.

Additional inputs: PTI