John Matthai CIE (1886–1959) was an Indian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

who served as Independent India's first Railway Minister and subsequently as well as India's

Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

, taking office shortly after the presentation of India's first Budget, in 1948.

Biography

He was born on January 10, 1886, as the son of Challiyal Thomas Matthai and Anna Thayyil to an Anglican Syrian Christian family. He graduated in economics from the

University of Madras The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

. He served as a Professor and Head in University of Madras from 1922 to 1925. John Matthai also studied at Oxford University. He presented two

Budgets A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environment ...

as India's Finance Minister, but resigned following the 1950 Budget in protest against the increasing power of the Planning Commission and P. C. Mahalanobis. He was the first Chairman of the State Bank of India when it was set up in 1955. He was the founding President of the Governing Body of the

National Council of Applied Economic Research National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) is India’s oldest and largest independent, non-profit, economic policy research think tank. Established in New Delhi in 1956, it acquired considerable national and international standing w ...

(NCAER) in New Delhi, India's first independent economic policy institute established in 1956. He served as the

Vice Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

of the

University of Mumbai University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

from 1955 till 1957 and then as the first Vice Chancellor of the

University of Kerala University of Kerala (formerly known as University of Travancore) is a state-run public university in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chithi ...

from 1957 to 1959. His nephew, Verghese Kurien, is generally recognized as the architect of India's

White Revolution The White Revolution () or the Shah and People Revolution () was a far-reaching series of reforms to aggressively modernize the Pahlavi Iran, Imperial State of Iran launched on 26 January 1963 by the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and ended with ...

. Dr. John Matthai Centre,

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

, located on the large plot of land donated by his family, is named in his honour. His wife, Achamma Matthai was an Indian social worker and a women's rights activist. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

honoured him in 1954 with the award of

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

, the fourth highest Indian civilian award, for his contributions to the society, John Matthai was invested as a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1934, and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1959. NCAER, led by the President of its Governing Body, Nandan Nilekani and with support from the Nilekani Philanthropies, honoured John Matthai in 2019 by naming NCAER's new office building at its campus in New Delhi as the John Matthai Tower.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthai, John 1886 births 1959 deaths Politicians from Kozhikode Malayali politicians Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala First Nehru ministry Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in literature & education Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Madras Christian College alumni Railway ministers of India Ministers of finance of India Ministers for corporate affairs Members of the Council of the Governor General of India