 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "D. R. Mehta" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
D. R. Mehta (born 25 June 1937) is a former chairman ofSecurities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Mehta is a recipient ofPadma Bhushan, one of the highest Indian civilian awards, for his contribution to social causes.[1]
Mehta was born atJodhpur inRajasthan. He is a graduate of arts and law fromRajasthan University. He also studied atRoyal Institute of Public Administration, London, UK and theMIT Sloan School of Management.
D. R. Mehta joined theIndian Administrative Service in 1961 and held numerous positions initially in theGovernment of Rajasthan and later in theGovernment of India.
Mehta served as chairman ofSEBI, the regulator of the capital markets in India, from 1995 to 2002. SEBI is the Indian equivalent of theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Mehta, unlike most bureaucrats,[2] orchestrated significant transformations in the India's capital markets within a brief period by introducing a slew of economic reforms; eventually making the Indian capital market one of the most modern and efficient ones in the world, attracting both local and foreign investors.[3]
From 1992 to 1995 Mehta served as the deputy governor of theReserve Bank of India (RBI) which is thecentral bank of India. Still earlier, from 1991 to 1992 he was the director general of Foreign Trade, Government of India, and Ministry of Commerce. Prior to this, from 1989 to 1991, Mehta was additional secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance, dealing with banking.
From 1974 to 1989, except for five years when he was serving theMinistry of Finance of India, Mehta worked for the state government of Rajasthan in various senior positions as the secretary to the government, in the departments of Industries, Mines, and Special Programs of the Poor etc. During this period he was the secretary to theChief Minister of Rajasthan.[4]
D. R. Mehta has been active in social field throughout his life. He set upBhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samit (BMVSS) inJaipur in 1975 and is now its full-time honorary volunteer. Under his leadership, BMVSS emerged as the largest organization for the handicapped in the world, providing artificial limbs/calipers and other aids and appliances for free. More than 1 million people have been its beneficiaries so far.[5]
Mehta's focus on combining social service with science led to amemorandum of understanding betweenStanford University and BMVSS, resulting in the development of a newknee joint called the Jaipur Knee. It was hailed by theTime magazine as one of the 50 best inventions of 2009.[6]
Mehta is also a well-known animal activist. He has started and has been associated with some animal homes, and has also published literature on animal welfare.
D. R. Mehta has been honoured at national and international levels. In 2008 he was conferred with thePadma Bhushan by the President of India.[7] Mehta received the TECH Museum Award for Innovation and Its Use for Humanity in Silicon Valley in November 2007.[8] He is also a recipient of the Indian for Collective Action Award, Diwali Behan Award (conferred by theDalai Lama), the CNBC Award for Social Enterprise, Satpal Mittal Award, etc. Mehta is also a director on the Europe / Asia Board of the U.S.-basedMIT Sloan School of Management. D R Mehta was also a recipient of theRajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award in 2012.[9] The award, which carries a citation and a cash award of Rs fivelakh, has been given for his outstanding contribution towards promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill. In 2013 he was conferred with theRajasthan Ratna by the Rajasthan Government.[10]