Benegal Rama Rau

{{Short description|Indian banker and judge, 4th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = Sir

| name = Benegal Rama Rau

| honorific-suffix = CIE ICS

| image = Sir Benegal Rama Rau, governor of Reserve Bank of India.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Rau in March 1938

| office3 = Ambassador of India to Japan

| term_start3 = 1947

| term_end3 = 1948

| predecessor3 =

| successor3 =

| office2 = Ambassador of India to the United States

| term_start2 = 1948

| term_end2 = 1949

| predecessor2 =

| successor2 =

| order = 4th

| office = Governor of the Reserve Bank of India

| term_start = 1 July 1949

| term_end = 14 January 1957

| predecessor = Sir C. D. Deshmukh

| successor = K. G. Ambegaonkar

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1889|7|1}}

| birth_place =

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1969|12|13|1889|7|1}}

| death_place =

| alma_mater = King's College, Cambridge

| occupation = Civil servant

| signature = Benegal Rama Rau signature.jpg

}}

Sir Benegal Rama Rau CIE, ICS (1 July 1889 – 13 December 1969{{cite web

|url =http://www.answers.com/topic/1969

|title =World Chronology: 1969

|accessdate =2009-05-12

|publisher =Answers.com}}{{cite web

|url =http://www.munzinger.de/search/portrait/Sir+Benegal+Rama+Rau/0/6787.html

|title =Sir Benegal Rama Rau

|accessdate =2009-05-12

|publisher =Munzinger}}) was the fourth Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1 July 1949 to 14 January 1957.{{cite web

|url=http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/governors.aspx

|title=List of Governors

|accessdate=2006-12-08

|publisher=Reserve Bank of India

|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916083919/http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/governors.aspx

|archivedate=16 September 2008

|df=dmy

}}

Early life and family

He was born in a Konkani-speaking Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin[http://www.deccanherald.com/content/132072/a-stalwart-put-his-stamp.html, Deccan Herald, 25 January] family from Mangalore. 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, and at King's College in Cambridge.

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 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.{{cite news|last=|first=|date=2 March 2010|title=Band of brothers|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2010/mar/02/band-of-brothers-135856.html|newspaper=New Indian Express|access-date=20 October 2022|archive-date=23 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023042448/https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2010/mar/02/band-of-brothers-135856.html|url-status=dead}}

Career

Joining the Indian Civil Service in 1919, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1930,[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/33611/supplements/3477London Gazette, 30 May 1930] and was knighted in 1939.[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/34654/pages/5603 Tuesday 15 August 1939] London Gazette He was a member of the Indian Civil Service. 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.

On joining the ICS and before joining the RBI he held the following posts.{{cite web|url=http://sahistory.org.za/pages/people/rau-br.htm |title=Sir Benegal Rama Rau |accessdate=2006-12-09 |publisher=SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY ONLINE |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051217215732/http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/people/rau-br.htm |archivedate=17 December 2005 }}

Under-Secretary and Deputy Secretary to the Government of Madras (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 (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.{{Cite web|title=A Mangalorean PM and his RBI Governor Brother: The Extraordinary story of the Benegal Brothers|url=https://www.mangaloretoday.com/opinion/A-Mangalorean-PM-and-his-RBI-Governor-Brother-The-Extraordinary-story-of-the-Benegal-Brothers.html|access-date=2022-01-14|website=www.mangaloretoday.com}}