[2] After obtaining his Ph.D., Patel joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1990, where he worked on the US, India, Bahamas and Myanmar desks till 1995.

During his tenure, the Government of India demonetised the ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi Series, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, fake currency and terrorism from 9 November 2016.

[6] On 10 December 2018 at 17:15 hrs IST, Urjit Patel resigned from the post of Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) effective immediately.

The latter wanted more money from RBI to balance its fiscal deficit, which Patel did not agree to, citing requirement for long-term financial stability.

In August 2019 Nitin Gadkari fueled the controversy when he stated that he had advised the Union Finance Minister to remove the RBI Governor because the latter was inflexible and adamant.