Hasmukh Thakordas Parekh (10 March 1911 – 18 November 1994) was an Indian financial entrepreneur, writer and philanthropist. He played a role in the development of Industrial Credit & Investment Corporation of India, now ICICI Bank, founded the

Housing Development Finance Corporation Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) is an Indian private development finance institution based in Mumbai. It is a major housing finance provider in India. It also has a presence in banking, life and general insurance, ass ...

, and in 1992 was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

for his contribution to the finance industry in India. The

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

also conferred on him an honorary fellowship.

Biography

Hasmukh Thakordas Parekh was born to a Jain family in

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. During his early life he lived in a chawl with his father, Thakurdas, and had to juggle a part-time job and studies with the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. He subsequently worked as a lecturer at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, for three years, and later began his financial career with the stock broking firm Harkisandass Lukhmidass. He joined

ICICI ICICI Bank Limited is an Indian Private bank. It is headquartered at Mumbai. It offers a wide range of banking products and financial services for corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and specialized subsidiari ...

as Deputy general manager in 1956, became chairman and managing director in 1972. He retired in 1976 and was Chairman of ICICI's Board until 1978. At 66, when he had already received many honours and was stepping down from

, he started a new institution, the Housing Development Finance Corporation ( HDFC), the first of its kind for housing finance in India. On meeting the then Secretary of Finance, Dr Manmohan Singh, the latter told him that HDFC was an unknown venture and that no one knew if it would "click" with the Indian people, but Hasmukh Thakordas Parekh had by then already obtained promises of funding from overseas investors, and he was enthusiastic about the project. H.T. Parekh Library (IFMR) is an archive and reference library. It is used by Institute's faculty members, researchers, staff, students as well as outsiders for their academic and research requirements.

References

1994 deaths Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in trade and industry Businesspeople from Gujarat People from Surat 1911 births HDFC Group Indian Jains {{India-business-bio-stub