The Padma Vibhushan awardee Narayanan Vaghul and architect of ICICI, considered as the ‘Bhishma Pitamah’ of banking in the country passed away on Saturday at the age of 88 in Chennai.
Prominent personalities across the country mourned his demise via posts and paid tributes to one of the greatest pioneers in the Banking Industry. From Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to RBI Governor Shantikata Das offered their condolences to Mr. Vaghul’s family.
Posting on X, P Chidambram said, “He was a legendary banker who turned ICICI into a financial powerhouse, but he was more than that. He was the one who spotted talent among men and women, mentored them, promoted them and entrusted them with high responsibilities.”
Recalling his love for narrating stories of legendary cricketers Sir Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar, and Tamil and Hindi classics from 1950s and Carnatic music Anand Ramakrishnan, a 45 year old CA in close association with Mr. Vaghul said, “Vaghul used to share his insights on most topics. His humor and wit were amazing and his knowledge was vast in areas like sports, history, economics and politics.”
“We all will miss him dearly and will cherish the good moments we had.” He added.
“A dharma yogi, institution builder, guru, visionary, author, philanthropist, and a doyen of Indian industry. We, the ICICI family, will forever remain grateful to you, Sir.” posted ICICI on its microblogging site, paying a tribute to the legend.
Career
Mr. Vaghul started his career as a probationary officer at State Bank of India, under the mentorship of SBI chairman, RK Talwar. His 19 years of service at SBI ended when he switched to National Institute of Bank Management and was appointed its Director there. Next, he moved to the Central Bank of India in 1978. Three years later he was appointed the Managing Director and Chairman of the Central Bank of India.
In 1985, PM Rajiv Gandhi appointed him as the Chairman and MD of Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India. He played a pioneering role in introducing a Universal Banking Model laying the foundation stone of modern banking in India. He served as the Chairman and CEO of ICICI Bank for 24 long years before retiring in 2009.
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Contributions to ICICI
With a collaboration between UTI and ICICI, he introduced the first Venture Capital Firm in India – the Technology Development and Information Company of India Ltd. (TDICI). He also set up a subsidiary of ICICI group, ICICI Securities Limited which provides institutional and retail broking, merchant banking, financial products distribution, private wealth management, and issuer and advisory services. He is credited for establishing the concept of Credit Rating in India by setting up CRISIL and helped in developing the best credit rating practices in the country.
Awards and Recognitions
A recipient of numerous awards and honours. Mr. Vaghul was chosen as the Businessman of the Year by Business India in 1992, received a Lifetime Achievement Award, by Economic Times in 2006, and by Ernst & Young in 2009 and by the Bombay Management Association in March 2013. Recognised for his contribution to Corporate Governance by the Institute of Company Secretaries, Mr. Vaghul was also awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India, in 2009. In 2012, he received the Corporate catalyst award from Forbes for his active role in philanthropic activities.
