Lakshmi Kant Jha, MBE (22 November 1913 – 16 January 1988), born in

Darbhanga district Darbhanga district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India, and Darbhanga city is the administrative headquarters of this district and 5th largest city of Bihar as well. Darbhanga district is a part of Darbhanga ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

was the eighth Governor of the

Reserve Bank of India The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible f ...

from 1 July 1967 to 3 May 1970.

Education and career

Lakshmi Kant Jha was born into a

Maithil Brahmin Maithil Brahmins are a Hindu Brahmin community from the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent that comprises Tirhut, Darbhanga, Kosi, Purnia, Munger, Bhagalpur; Bokaro in Jharkhand and Santhal Pargana divisions of India and some adjoi ...

family in

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Bihar situated centrally in Mithila region. Darbhanga is the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. It was the seat of the erst ...

. He was a member of the 1936 batch of the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

. He was educated at

Benares Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. ...

(BHU), Trinity College, Cambridge University, and

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

. He studied economics at Cambridge when

Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in m ...

was teaching there. Jha was taught by another eminent teacher

Harold Laski Harold Joseph Laski (30 June 1893 – 24 March 1950) was an English political theorist and economist. He was active in politics and served as the chairman of the British Labour Party from 1945 to 1946 and was a professor at the London School o ...

at the LSE. Jha rose to be a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Supply, during British rule and was appointed an MBE for his service in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginnin ...

. After Independence he had served as secretary in the Ministries of Industries, Commerce and Finance and Secretary to the Prime Minister of India,

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...

(1964–66) and

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 and was al ...

(1966–67) prior to his appointment as Governor of RBI.

Major works and achievements

During his tenure the

Indian Rupee The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 '' paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use ...

notes of denominations of Indian Rupee symbol

2, 5, 10, and 100, commemorating the birth centenary of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

were released on 2 October 1969, these notes bear his signature, both in English and Hindi. The signature in Hindi, the official language of the Government of India, appeared on the currency notes for the first time during his stewardship of the RBI. A subsequent re-issue on this series notes bears the signature of B. N. Adarkar. His tenure also saw nationalization of 14 major commercial banks, introduction of social controls over commercial banks, establishment of National Credit Council, and the introduction of Lead Bank Scheme to facilitate credit delivery. Amongst other developments, gold controls were brought on a statutory basis; Deposit Insurance was in principle extended to Cooperative banks; and the setting up of the Agricultural Credit Board was undertaken. He served as India's ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

during the crucial period 1970–73 when India fought a war with Pakistan and liberated Bangladesh. Kissinger has acknowledged his persuasive diplomatic skills in the book ''White House Years''. Jha authored a few books including ''Mr. Red Tape'' and ''Economic Strategy for the 80s: Priorities for the Seventh Plan''. He was governor of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

state from 3 July 1973 to 22 February 1981.His role as an impartial Head of State is still remembered with affection and respect in J&K. He was a member of the Brandt Commission during the 1980s on the North -South economic issues . He was chairman of the Economic Administration Reforms Commission of the Govt. of India from 1981–88. He also served as the adviser on economic matters to the P.M. Indira Gandhi and later to the P.M. Rajiv Gandhi. At the time of his death, Jha was a member of the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

. In 1990, the RBI instituted the L.K. Jha Memorial Lectures in commemoration of his memory.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jha, Lakshmi Kant Governors of the Reserve Bank of India Indian bankers Indian civil servants Ambassadors of India to the United States Governors of Jammu and Kashmir Indian Members of the Order of the British Empire Indian Civil Service (British India) officers 1913 births 1988 deaths People from Bhagalpur Rajya Sabha members from Bihar