RAS question
The first Governor of RBI was:
Correct answer: (D) Sir Osborne Smith.
Sir Osborne Smith was the first Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, serving from 1 April 1935 to 30 June 1937.
Explanation
The RBI's official Governors page identifies Sir Osborne Smith as the first Governor of the Reserve Bank and gives his tenure as 01-04-1935 to 30-06-1937. That is why option D is the substantive answer, not merely the earliest-sounding name in the list. The same official list places Sir James Taylor after him, from 01-07-1937 to 17-02-1943, and records Sir C D Deshmukh's tenure from 11-08-1943 to 30-06-1949. Deshmukh matters because he was the first Indian Governor of the Bank, but that is a different asked fact. Hilton Young is tied here to the commission that recommended the RBI, not to the Governor's office.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) C.D. Deshmukh was the first Indian Governor of the Bank, serving from 11 August 1943 to 30 June 1949, so he was not the first Governor overall.
- (B) James Taylor followed Sir Osborne Smith and served from 1 July 1937 to 17 February 1943, making him the second Governor rather than the first.
- (C) Hilton Young headed the commission associated with recommending the RBI, but the listed first Governor was Sir Osborne Smith.
Concept
This tests institutional chronology in Indian Economy, especially the founding offices of major financial institutions. RAS repeats such facts because they connect economic administration with colonial-era institutional development.