Narendra Chandra Dutta (; 25 November 1878 – 15 April 1962) was an Indian banker,

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

of Comilla Banking Corporation and later the prime mover behind the incorporation of the

United Bank of India United Bank of India (UBI) was an Indian nationalized bank which provided financial and banking services. Established in 1950 and headquartered in Kolkata, the bank was nationalised by the government of India in 1969 becoming one of public sec ...

Early life

Dutta was born to Mahesh Chandra Dutta in Kalikachchha, in the district of Tipperah. His father died when he was only nine months old. His mother struggled to bring him up and then had a live a life of penury. He graduated in law from the Ripon College in Calcutta in 1905. He began his practice in the civil court at

Comilla Comilla (), officially spelled Cumilla, is a metropolis on the banks of the Gomti River in eastern Bangladesh. Comilla was one of the cities of ancient Bengal. It was once the capital of Tripura kingdom. Comilla Airport is located in the Duli ...

and soon build up a lucrative practice.

Career

Comilla Banking Corporation advertisement 16081945

In 1914, Dutta founded the Comilla Banking Corporation at the suggestion of community leader Akhil Chandra Dutta with support from Mahesh Chandra Bhattacharya (1848–1944). He started the bank with a declared capital of 4,000 rupees and raised another 2,500 rupees. In order to raise the capital he sold his own house for 1,500 rupees. Initially he drew a monthly remuneration of eight rupees from the bank. Dutta did an economic survey of

eastern India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

, and began investments in the tea industry. Through the Comilla Banking Corporation he began to issue loans to prospective investors in the tea industry for buying tea plantations and related properties. After completing his studies, Dutta's eldest son Bata Krishna Dutta returned to

and joined the Comilla Banking Corporation as a trainee. After a few weeks Dutta suggested that Bata Krishna himself could run a bank himself and young Bata Krishna took up the challenge. In 1930, Bata Krishna Dutta took charge of the defunct Comilla Rice and Oil Mills Limited and established the New Standard Bank of India with an initial paid-up capital of thirty thousand rupees. In 1946, at the suggestion of Chintaman Dwarakanath Deshmukh, the then 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 ...

, the New Standard Bank of India merged with the Comilla Banking Corporation, transferring all its assets to the latter. In 1950, Narendra Chandra Dutta along with Jyotish Chandra Das completed the merger of Comilla Banking Corporation and Bengal Central Bank and founded the United Bank of India.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutta, Narendra Chandra 1878 births 1962 deaths Indian bankers Businesspeople from Kolkata Surendranath College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Bengali Hindus Bankers from British India

Early life

Career

See also

References