Mr Vinod Rai (born on 23.05.1948) has a Master’s Degree in Economics from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. He has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, USA. He joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1972 and was allotted the Kerala cadre. In January 2008, he was appointed the eleventh Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) of India. After a very active and illustrious tenure as the C&AG, he demitted office in May 2013.

Mr Rai has wide experience of working in various capacities in the State Government of Kerala as well as in the Union Government. As Secretary in the Ministry of Finance he initiated reforms in the Banking, Insurance and Pensions sector. He has served as a Director on the Boards of State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Life Insurance Corporation of India and Infrastructure Development & Finance Company of India. He set up the India Infrastructure Finance Company which also has an office in London.

Mr Rai took over as the Comptroller & Auditor General of India on 7^th January 2008. While he was the Comptroller and Auditor General, he was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the U.N. Panel of External Auditors. He was also elected as a member of the Governing Board of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).

In recognition of his services to the nation, he was awarded the ‘Padma Bhushan’, which is the third highest civilian award in the country.

In view of his vast experience in the Financial Sector, Mr Rai was appointed as the first Chairman of the newly created Banks Board Bureau in 2016. He demitted this office on the completion of his tenure on 31^st March 2018.

Mr Rai also served as the Chairman of the Supreme Court mandated Committee of Administrators of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The Committee was tasked to set up an accountable and transparent structure for the Board and put in place credible systems and implement Reforms as mandated by the Court.

He authored his first book titled “Not just an Accountant”, which has been a huge attraction among informed readers. He co-edited another book with a senior research Fellow in ISAS titled "Seven Decades of Independent India”. Mr Rai has recently released his third book titled: “Rethinking Good Governance- Holding to Account India’s Public Institutions”.

Mr Rai is presently a Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, in the National University of Singapore. He is also a Trustee on the global board of Trustees of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, London.

Mr Rai is a keen tennis player. His interests include gardening and mountaineering.