Commerce

A good number of past RBI Governors were people of the Indian Administrative Services. Raghuram Rajan is the first non-civil servant in 10 years to steer the RBI. The previous non-IAS RBI Governor was Bimal Jalan, whose almost six-year stint ended in 2003. Before Jalan, C. Rangarajan was the Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister and before him S.Venkitaramanan, and R.N. Malhotra were also IAS officers.
In fact, the first Indian RBI governor, Sir Chintaman D.Deshmukh was an Indian Civil Services personnel.
So the easiest way to become an RBI Governor is to become an IAS officer, but then, that's not easy either!The Governor and not more than four Deputy Governors of the RBI are appointed by the Central Government under the RBI Act. RBI Governors is thus appointed by the Government.
The Governor and Deputy Governors hold office for periods not exceeding five years. The term of the governor may be fixed by the government at the time of his appointment. (Raghuram Rajan was appointed for three years; though a governor can get five-year tenure). Governor (and also Deputy Governors) is eligible for reappointment or extension.