Manohar J. Pherwani (1934-1992) was an Indian corporate executive and banker who served as Chairman of the
Unit Trust of India (UTI),
National Housing Bank
National Housing Bank (NHB), is the apex regulatory body for overall regulation and licensing of housing finance companies in India. It is under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance , Government of India. It was set up on 9 July 1988 under t ...
(NHB) and
Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS). Under his tenure of almost a decade as the chairman of UTI, the asset base of UTI grew from ₹1 billion to about ₹176.5 billion.
In 1987, he set up IL&FS to finance infrastructure projects in the country. He headed the 1991 "Expert Study Group" into the establishment of a new stock exchange (also known as the MJ Pherwani Committee) which resulted in the formation of the
National Stock Exchange of India (NSE).
Controversies
In 1992, while serving as Chairman & Managing Director of the
National Housing Bank
National Housing Bank (NHB), is the apex regulatory body for overall regulation and licensing of housing finance companies in India. It is under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance , Government of India. It was set up on 9 July 1988 under t ...
, the bank's exposure of over 1,000 crore worth of re-purchase option (repo) based security trades to
Harshad Mehta
Harshad Shantilal Mehta (29 July 1954 — 31 December 2001) was an Indian stockbroker and a convicted fraudster. Mehta's involvement in the 1992 Indian securities scam made him infamous as a market manipulator.
Of the 27 criminal charges br ...
came to light.
Pherwani had been regarded as Mehta's mentor.
Consequently, Pherwani stepped down from NHB.
He also quit as chairman of the NSE and IL&FS in the wake of the
1992 securities scam
The 1992 Indian stock market scam was a market manipulation carried out by Harshad Mehta, Harshad Shantilal Mehta with other bankers and politicians on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The scam caused significant disruption to the stock market of India, ...
.
Death
On 21 May 1992, less than 12 days after resigning as NHB chairperson Pherwani was found dead by his family members at his Bombay home. The cause of death was found to be
cardiac arrest.
In popular culture
Actor
K. K. Raina portrayed Pherwani in the
Sony LIV
SonyLIV is an Indian over-the-top freemium streaming platform owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it is carrying content from its local networks, includi ...
hit series ''
Scam 1992''.
References
Further reading
* ''The Scam: Who Won, Who Lost, Who Got away?'', Sucheta Dalal and Debashis Basu, Paperback, 314 pages, UBS Publishers Distributors, 1994,
* Polyester Prince-The Real Story of Dhirubhai Ambani, Hamish McDonald, Paperback, 296 pages, Allen & Unwin Pty., Limited (Australia), September 1999,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pherwani, Manohar J.
Indian chairpersons of corporations
1992 deaths
Year of birth missing