View source for Benegal Rama Rau

{{Short description|Indian banker and judge, 4th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = Sir
| name = Benegal Rama Rau
| honorific-suffix = [[Order of the Indian Empire|CIE]] [[Indian Civil Service|ICS]]
| image = Sir Benegal Rama Rau, governor of Reserve Bank of India.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = 
| office3 = Ambassador of India to Japan
| term_start3 = 1947
| term_end3 = 1948
| predecessor3 = 
| successor3 = 
| office2 = [[List of ambassadors of India to the United States|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 = [[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''', [[Order of the Indian Empire|CIE]], [[Indian Civil Service|ICS]] (1 July 1889 – 13 December 1969<ref>{{cite web
|url =http://www.answers.com/topic/1969
|title =World Chronology: 1969
|accessdate =2009-05-12
|publisher =Answers.com}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>) was the fourth Governor of the [[Reserve Bank of India]] from 1 July 1949 to 14 January 1957.<ref name="RBI">{{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 
}}</ref>

He was educated at [[Presidency College, Chennai|Presidency College]], [[Madras]], and at [[King's College, Cambridge|King's College]], [[Cambridge]]. Joining the [[Indian Civil Service]] in 1919, he was appointed a Companion of the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] (CIE) in 1930,<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/33611/supplements/3477London Gazette, 30 May 1930]</ref> and was knighted in 1939.<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/34654/pages/5603 Tuesday 15 August 1939] London Gazette</ref> 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 [[TT Krishnamachari]].<ref name="RBI"/> 
From a [[Konkani]]-speaking [[Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin]]<ref>[http://www.deccanherald.com/content/132072/a-stalwart-put-his-stamp.html, Deccan Herald, 25 January]</ref> family from [[Mangaluru]], his elder brother Sir [[Benegal Narsing Rau]] was an Indian civil servant, jurist, diplomat and statesman known for his key role in drafting the Constitution of India, and his younger brother [[B. Shiva Rao|B Shiva Rao]] became a journalist and politician. Married to  [[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]], their younger daughter [[Santha Rama Rau]] became a travel writer, marrying and settling in the United States.
On joining the ICS and before joining the RBI he held the following posts.<ref>{{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 }}</ref>
* Under-Secretary and Deputy Secretary to the Government of [[Tamil Nadu|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 [[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 has been the longest-serving R.B.I Governor to date.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Governors of Reserve Bank of India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rau, Benegal Rama}}
[[Category:1889 births]]
[[Category:1969 deaths]]
[[Category:Mangaloreans]]
[[Category:People from Dakshina Kannada district]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Governors of the Reserve Bank of India]]
[[Category:Indian bankers]]
[[Category:Indian civil servants]]
[[Category:Indian Civil Service (British India) officers]]
[[Category:Presidency College, Chennai alumni]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Japan|1947]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian judges]]
[[Category:Konkani people]]
[[Category:High Commissioners of India to South Africa]]
[[Category:University of Madras alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian economists]]