(John Mathai first Railway Minister)

John Mathai (1886-1959) was the first Railway Minister of India from 15th August 1947 to 22nd September 1948 under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He was also the Finance Minister of India from 1949 to 1950 under the same Prime Minister.   

(John Mathai)

John Mathai born on 10th January 1886 in Calicut, Madras, Presidency British India (now in Kozhikode, Kerala, India) was an economist. He was a member of Indian National Congress (INC). John Mathai graduated in economics from University of Madras and served as a professor and head in University of Madras from 1922 to 1925. The State Bank of India was established in 1955 with John Mathai being the first Chairman. National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) established in 1956 in New Delhi is a non-profit, economic policy research institute. John Mathai was the founding President of the Governing body of this organization. John Mathai was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Mumbai from 1955 to 1957 and from 1957 to 1959  he served as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Kerala. He was the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kerala. John Mathai was awarded the Padma Vibhushan (the second highest civilian award of the Republic of India) in 1959. In 1934 John Mathai was appointed the Champion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE). 

The Ministry of Railways under the Government of India is responsible for rail transport in the country. Formed on 16th April 1853 the headquarters of the ministry is Rail Bhavan 1, Raisina Road, New Delhi. The state-owned Indian Railways is headed by the Chairman of Railway Board. Minister of Railways is appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Prime Minister. Minister of Railways heads the Ministry of Railways. Piyush Goyal is the Minister of Railways. He assumed office on 3rd September 2017.