Shri Ekanath K. Thakur (15 February 1941 â 7 August 2014) was an Indian politician from the Shiv Sena party, born in Mhapan, Sindhudurg. He was a Member of the Parliament of India representing Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament during 2002âÂÂ2008.
Shri Thakur was the founder of National School of Banking, a successful training institute that prepares test takers for bank officers' exams in India. He was also chairman of the Board of Directors of Saraswat Bank, a leading Urban Co-operative Bank in India.
Shri Thakur held a bachelor's degree in arts (Hons.) and was also a CA. He served as the Director of the Central Board of State Bank of India, which has over 13,000 branches and business of nearly Rs 25 lakh crore. He was a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, from 2002 to 2008, and was elected unopposed from the State of Maharashtra.
He was a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology, Defence, and Food Processing Industry. He was also a member of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Finance and Commerce. He served as the General Secretary of the World Bank (PNoWB), presided by Dr. Manmohan Singh and later by Mr. Shiraj Patil. He was vice president and later President of the All India Confederation of Bank Officers Organisations (AICBO), representing 2,00,000 officers and executives in India's banking industry.
In 1977, he represented India among 30,00,000 officers/ executives working in Public and Private sector in first ever World Conference for Officers held at International Labor Organisation (a branch of UNO), Geneva, Switzerland . At the conference, he was elected unopposed as Vice President of Officers Group from 127 countries. He was also elected as a member of the Drafting Committee. He was the Director of Maharashtra State Financial Corporation for four years during which he also acted as the chairman for two years. He was the President of Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. He was also on Banking and Finance Committee of FICCI and was a member of Executive Committee of International Chamber of Commerce. He was Honorary Secretary and chief executive officer of Indian Education Society, one of the largest education institutions in Mumbai, having under its canopy 75 educational institutions. He was founder and Chairman of National School of Banking (NSB) which has trained over 3,00,000 plus candidates for numerous bank entrance exams through its 50 centers spread across India. He was Trustee of Kusumagraj Pratishthan, Nasik and Konkan Marathi Sahitya Parishad (Komaspaa). He was also President of Karachi Maharashtriya Shikshan Prasarak Mandal.
Award and Recognition: