I. G. Patel

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Indraprasad Gordhanbhai Patel
Governor of Reserve Bank of India
In office
1 December 1977 – 15 September 1982
Preceded byM. Narasimham
Succeeded byManmohan Singh
Deputy Administrator of
United Nations Development Programme
In office
1972–1977
2nd Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India
In office
1965–1967
In office
1961–1963
Personal details
Born(1924-11-11)11 November 1924
PhD)
OccupationEconomist
Indian Economic Service[1][2]
Signature

Indraprasad Gordhanbhai Patel (11 November 1924 – 17 July 2005),[3][4] popularly known as I. G. Patel, was an Indian economist and a civil servant who served as the fourteenth Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1 December 1977 to 15 September 1982.[5]

He served as Director of the London School of Economics, making him the first person of Indian origin to head a higher education institute in the United Kingdom. He also served as Chairperson of the Board of Governors from 1996 to 2001 at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. He was well known for his formidable intellectual powers in the select company of central bankers and economic statesmen such as the "Committee of the Thirty" set up by the former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.[6]

He also served as Deputy Administrator at United Nations Development Programme headquarters in New York.

Education

Patel stood first in the

University of Bombay. He later earned Doctor of Philosophy in economics from King's College at University of Cambridge with a scholarship from the Gaekwads of Baroda. His tutor Austin Robinson regarded him as his best tutee over his entire tenure as fellow of King's [citation needed
]

Career

Civil Service

He was a member of the Indian Economic Service and served in Government of India. He held the rank and post of Special Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and later Secretary to Government of India (Economic Affairs) in the Ministry of Finance.

Academic career

Patel returned to India and joined

Baroda college as Professor of Economics and as the Principal in 1949. Eduard Bernstein later his mentor, invited him to join the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund
in 1950. After five years there, Patel came back to Delhi as Economic Adviser to the Ministry of Finance in 1954 and spent the next 18 years in one or other top capacity in the Government of India.

In 1972 he became the Deputy Administrator of the

UN Development Programme for five years, returning only to take up the position of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. It was during this period marked by turbulence in the foreign exchange markets that Patel's formidable intellectual powers came into use in sessions of the Bank for International Settlements. In 1982 he was appointed Director[7]
of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, which he helped launch on a trajectory to become the best management school in India.

But again Patel was picked up to serve abroad. In 1984, he was chosen to be the Director of LSE, where he improved the school's finances and added several properties to its portfolio, as well as securing the freehold of the school's Old Building in Houghton Street. He had to handle student protest about LSE's investments in South Africa and their support of Winston Silcott, who had been convicted of the murder of a police officer in the Broadwater Farm riots in Tottenham. Patel handled both the situations with tact and firmness but also with a sympathetic understanding of students' concerns about racism. His initiatives, too, in setting up an innovative inter-departmental forum bore fruit in the Interdisciplinary Management Institute and the Development Studies Institute.

RBI Governor

The

Indian Rupee notes of 1000, 5000 and 10,000 denomination and the gold auctions were demonetized during his tenure (he later featured on a special commemorative 1000 rupee note). However, the 1000 notes had to be reintroduced later.[8]

In later life, he taught at the

Nicholas Stern
.

Personal life

He married Alaknanda Dasgupta, daughter of renowned professor of economics Amiya Kumar Dasgupta and sister of renowned economist Sir Partha Dasgupta.

References

  1. ^ Srinivasa-Raghavan, T. C. A. (25 December 2015). "Modi and economics". Business Standard India. Business Standard. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Obituary: Dr I.G. Patel". Financial Times. 2 August 2005. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  3. ^ "I. G. Patel Economic statesman and Director of LSE". The Independent. 20 July 2005. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  4. ^ Dr Indraprasad Gordhanbhai Patel (1924-2005) Archived 22 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine London School of Economics and Political Science Retrieved 9 August 2013
  5. ^ "List of Governors". Reserve Bank of India. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2006.
  6. Independent.co.uk
    . 19 July 2005. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Dr I.G. Patel @ Archives".
  8. ^ "High Denomination Bank Notes (Demonetisation) Act, 1978". Taxmann.net. Retrieved 8 December 2006. [dead link]
  9. ^ "MANDATORY DISCLOSURE 2009-2010" (PDF). MAHARAJA SAYAJIRAO UNIVERSITY. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  10. ^ "Time To Tune In To FM". Archived from the original on 29 December 2004. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  11. ^ "Padma Vibhushan Awardees". National Portal of India, GOI. Archived from the original on 31 January 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
Educational offices
Preceded by Director of the London School of Economics
1984–1990 		Succeeded by
John Ashworth
Preceded by
 Chairperson of the Board of Governors at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
1996 to 2001 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by
JJ Anjaria
Chief Economic Adviser of India

1961–1963
1965-1967 		Succeeded by
VK Ramaswamy
Preceded by Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
1977–1982 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
 Deputy Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
1972–1977 		Succeeded by
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