A. B. Shetty
Encyclopedia
Attavar Balakrishna Shetty(1883-1960) better known as A. B. Shetty was an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

, entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

 and the founder of Vijaya Bank
Vijaya Bank
-History:Vijaya Bank , a medium sized bank with presence across India. It was founded on October 23, 1931 by A. B. Shetty and a few other farmers in Mangalore, Karnataka in India.. The objective was to promote banking habits, thrift and entrepreneurship among the farming community of Dakshina...

.

Biography

A. B. Shetty was born in a Bunt
Bunt (community)
Bunt , previously spelled Bant, are a community of erstwhile nobility, feudatory and gentry from the region of Tulu Nadu in the south west of India which comprises the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada in the Indian state of Karnataka and Kasaragod taluk of Kerala...

 family of landlords to Mulki Kalappa Shetty (Father) and Attavar Unhakke (Mother).He completed his early education in Mangalore
Mangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...

. Mr. Shetty realising the need for dissemination of news and information about world affairs among people in the erstwhile South Canara
South Canara
South Canara was a district under the British empire, located at . It was bifurcated in 1859 from Canara district. It was the undivided Dakshina Kannada district...

 district, started a weekly in Kannada "Navayuga" which was edited in its early years by K. K. Shetty
K. K. Shetty
Kemthur Kanthappa Shetty was an Indian independence activist, journalist and a Member of Parliament who represented the Mangalore Constituency in the 5th Lok Sabha.He was a member of Indian National Congress....

 and later by K. Honnayya Shetty. The weekly did yeomen service in the field of journalism and was very popular for more than 40 years. In addition Mr. A. B. Shetty was also the pioneer behind the popular printing press called the Canara Printing Press in Mangalore.

Realising the strong necessity of good financial backing for the progress of any community Mr. Shetty established the Vijaya Bank
Vijaya Bank
-History:Vijaya Bank , a medium sized bank with presence across India. It was founded on October 23, 1931 by A. B. Shetty and a few other farmers in Mangalore, Karnataka in India.. The objective was to promote banking habits, thrift and entrepreneurship among the farming community of Dakshina...

 in the year 1931. The bank did well providing job opportunities for thousands of youth and also providing banking service to lakhs of people all over the country. Vijaya Bank is today one of the foremost nationalised banks of India. Deeply secular and progressive in outlook, Mr. Shetty took a keen interest in the activities of the Theosophical Society, the Brahmo Samaj, the Arya Samaj, the Depressed Classes Mission, etc., all of which were engaged in the uplift of neglected sections of society. He married Kalyani Shetty. They had four children: two sons and two daughters. Mr. Shetty was a popular figure in the political, educational & social life of south Canara district for more than 50 years. He also served as Minister in the erstwhile Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...

 and later in Madras State
Madras State
Madras State was the name by which the Indian districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Northern Kerala, Bellary and Dakshina Kannada were collectively known as from 1950 to 1953....

 holding various portfolios such as agriculture and veterinary, medical and public health, cooperation, housing and ex-servicemen between the years 1949-1956 until quitting the Ministry on March 1 1956 following the
States Reorganisation Act of 1956. He spent his last days in Mangalore & died in the year 1960 at the age of 77. Considering his legacy in the development of erstwhile south Canara district a Dental College is named after him in Mangalore
Mangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...

.
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