Paresh Chandra Bhattacharya OBE (born 1 March 1903)[1] was the seventh Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1 March 1962 to 30 June 1967.[2] Unlike his predecessors he was a member of the Indian Audits and Accounts Service (IA&AS). He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1946 New Year Honours.[3] He served as Secretary in the Finance Ministry and later as Chairman of State Bank of India before his appointment as the Governor.[2]

Paresh Chandra Bhattacharya
7th Governor of Reserve Bank of India
In office
1 March 1962 – 30 June 1967
Preceded byH. V. R. Iyengar
Succeeded byL. K. Jha
Personal details
Born1 March 1903
West Bengal, India
Died13 February 1969 (aged 66)
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
EducationM.A.
Alma materUniversity of Calcutta
OccupationCivil Servant, Banker
Known forGovernor, RBI; Finance Secretary; Chairman, SBI

As RBI Governor he strongly opposed the nationalising of private banks in India,[4] by writing a letter to the then Deputy Prime Minister Morarji Desai warning about the costs of nationalising the banks saying it was not desirable.[4] During his tenure the size of the currency notes of denomination 5, 10 and 100 were reduced in size for economic reasons.[5]

Bhattacharya's tenure saw the establishment of the Industrial Development Bank of India in 1964, the Agricultural Refinance Corporation in 1963 and the Unit Trust of India in 1964.

The banknotes signed by P C Bhattacharya have very high resale value in the grey market because of their rarity. A 10 rupee note signed by Bhattacharya fetches 800 to 1000 rupees today.[6] During his tenure as Governor of RBI, the size of the bank notes of Rs 5, 10 and 100 denominations had been reduced to cut cost of production, which make these notes relatively rare in the collectors market.

References

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  1. ^ "Who's who in India". 1967.
  2. ^ a b "P C Bhattacharya". Reserve Bank of India. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  3. ^ "No. 37598". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1946. p. 2789.
  4. ^ a b The Congress Split Accidental India: A History of the Nation's Passage through Crisis and Change By Shankkar Aiyar
  5. ^ P. C. Bhattacharya Bio In.com Retrieved on 23 August 2013
  6. ^ "10 Rupee Bank Note P V Bhattacharya". Golden Collection. Retrieved 23 June 2019.