 He was appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India in August 1943 and is one of the eight Deputy Governors of the Bank who have gone on to become its Governor.As Governor, Deshmukh helped establish the Industrial Finance Corporation and focused on the promotion of rural credit.Deshmukh's tenure saw the RBI begin a Research and Statistics department, the demonetisation of bank notes of 500 and above, the ceasing of the RBI's role as the central banks of Burma and State Bank of Pakistan and the enactment of the Banking Companies Act, 1949 that laid down the framework for regulation of India's banking sector.