Dattatreya Gopal Karve ( mr, दत्तात्रेय गोपाळ कर्वे; 24 December 1898 – 28 December 1967) was an Indian economist and professor who contributed to the fields of economics, public administration and the cooperative movement in India. He was also the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1962 to 1964.

Early life and education

D.G. Karve was born in Pune, India in 1898. His father died when he was one year old placing a financial burden on the remaining family. Supported by his mother, he studied at the New English School in Pune and later at Fergusson College. He failed a first-year college examination—an experience that spurred him to bring his academic and life goals into clearer focus. He studied under the distinguished Indian economist Professor V.G. Kale, and in 1921 was awarded the Cobden Club Medal for winning first position in economics on his B.A. examination.

Academic achievements

In 1923 D.G. Karve joined the Deccan Education Society as a professor of economics. In collaboration with Professor Kale he published a book on Principles of Economics in the

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

language in 1927, followed by a second volume in 1929. In 1932 he succeeded Professor Kale as Head of the Economics Department at Fergusson College, Pune. In June 1935 the Deccan Education Society appointed him Principal of Willingdon College, Sangli, an institution suffering from low numbers and poor academic standing. By the end of his five-year term the college saw significant improvements in its enrollment, finances and its reputation. He returned to Fergusson College as Head of the History-Economics Department in 1940. He went on to become the first principal of the newly formed

Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce, Pune is a college affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University (formerly Pune University) in the city of Pune, Maharashtra. The college was established in 1943, in Pune by the Deccan Education Society. ...

in 1943. Recognition of his contributions to the field of economics led to his election as President of the All-India Economic Conference in 1945 and President of the All-India Agricultural Economic Conference in 1956. He served as Vice Chancellor of the

University of Poona Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshk ...

from 1959 to 1961. In 1962 Dattatreya Gopal Karve was awarded an Honorary Fellowship at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Netherlands.

Public administration and the cooperative movement

Recognizing that economic policies are unlikely to be successful without effective planning and administration, D.G. Karve worked to educate and promote state planning in India. His contributions to public administration included serving as Chairman of the Bombay Administrative Enquiry Committee, and later as Director of the

Indian Institute of Public Administration The Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) was established in 1954 and is research and training organization under the Ministry of Personnel of the Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), k ...

in 1954. He contributed to India's cooperative movement using his background in

agricultural economics Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber products. Agricultural economics began as a branch of economics that specif ...

to encourage state participation in cooperation. He was chosen to become a Director of the Bombay State Cooperative Bank, Vice-Chairman of the

State Bank of India State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian multinational public sector bank and financial services statutory body headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. SBI is the 49th largest bank in the world by total assets and ranked 221st in the ''Fortune ...

(1960-1962) and Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (1962-1964). During his tenure at the Reserve Bank of India he served as Chairman of the Central Committee of Cooperative Training – a position that helped spread the cooperative model widely within India. He went on to serve as a special consultant to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. He participated in and chaired several commissions of the International Cooperative Alliance, and was Chairman of the 23rd session of the International Cooperative Congress in Vienna in 1966.

Legacy

In 2005 the

(BMCC) established the Principal D.G. Karve Chair in Economics and Commerce. D.G. Karve served as the first Principal of the BMCC in 1943.

References

*International Co-operative Alliance, ''Professor D.G. Karve Commemoration Volume'' (New India Press, New Delhi, 1971)

Selected bibliography

*''Federations: A Study in Comparative Politics'' (London, 1932) *''Poverty and Population in India'' (H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1936)

References

External links

International Co-operative AllianceProfile of Dattatreya Gopal Karve on the website of the International Institute of Social Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karve, Dattatreya Gopal 1898 births 1967 deaths 20th-century Indian economists Scientists from Pune