Sir Benegal Rama Rau CIE, ICS (1 July 1889 – 13 December 1969) was the fourth Governor of the

Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...

from 1 July 1949 to 14 January 1957.

Early life and family

He was born in a

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

-speaking Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin family from

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

. His elder brother Sir Benegal Narsing Rau went on to become an Indian civil servant, jurist, diplomat and statesman and legal adviser of the Constituent Assembly, and his younger brother B Shiva Rao became a journalist and politician. He was educated at Presidency College of

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, and at King's College in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. He married Dhanvanthi Rama Rau, of Kashmiri Brahmin descent and a leader in the Indian women's rights movement who was the International President of

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

and the founder of Family Planning Association of India, their younger daughter Santha Rama Rau became a travel writer, marrying and settling in the United States.

Career

Joining the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

in 1919, he was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

(CIE) in 1930, and was knighted in 1939. He was a member of the

. While he had the longest tenure as Governor of the RBI, it was cut short when he resigned just before the expiry of his second extended term, due to differences with Finance Minister

T. T. Krishnamachari Tiruvellore Thattai Krishnamachari (1899 1974) was an Indian politician who served as Finance Minister from 1956 to 1958 and from 1964 to 1966. He was also a founding member of the first governing body of the National Council of Applied Econom ...

. On joining the ICS and before joining the RBI he held the following posts. * Under-Secretary and Deputy Secretary to the Government of

(1919–1924) * Finance Department (1925–1926) as Secretary to the Indian Taxation Committee * Finance Department (1926–1928) as Deputy Secretary * Simons Commission (1928–1930) as Financial Adviser * Industries Department Joint Secretary * Round Table Conference as Secretary * Indian Bill (1931–1934) in the Joint Select Committee of Parliament * Deputy High Commissioner for India in London (1934–1938) * High Commissioner for India in the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

(1938–1941) When he returned to India, he was appointed Chairman of the Bombay Port Trust (1941–1946). After serving in the post he once again served as a diplomat as the Indian Ambassador to Japan (1947–1948), and as the Ambassador to the United States (1948–1949). His last position was as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He had been the longest-serving R.B.I Governor to date.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rau, Benegal Rama 1889 births 1969 deaths Mangaloreans People from Dakshina Kannada district Indian knights Indian Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Governors of the Reserve Bank of India Indian bankers Indian civil servants Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Presidency College, Chennai alumni

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

Ambassadors of India to the United States 20th-century Indian judges Konkani people High commissioners of India to South Africa University of Madras alumni 20th-century Indian economists Alumni of King's College, Cambridge