Kasturchand Daga

Sir Seth Kasturchand Daga, CIE, KCIE, Diwan Bahadur (1855-1917) was a businessman, landlord, philanthropist, and a pioneer who had conceptualised and implemented the hub-and-spoke model of trade. He was from Nagpur. He was made Knight Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire by King George V at the 1911 Delhi Durbar Honours.

Kasturchand started his entrepreneurial and banking journey from Nagpur and expanded his banking business from Lahore (now in Pakistan) to Yangon(then in Burma), with transactions extending up to Europe.

He was the founder of several textile mills in the then Central Provinces including the Model Mills of Nagpur, and Daga mills at Hinganghat and Badnera (now in Maharashtra). His company, Rai Bahadur Bansilal Abirchand (RBBA) Company, which had over 22 ventures in different sectors, was worth several hundred crores in those times.

He served as a Khazanchi to the Bank of Bengal and Chairman of Nagpur Electric Light and Power Co Ltd. Sir Kasturchand Daga died on January 21, 1917.

Daga was a philanthropist and had constructed works of Public utility such as tanks, wells, schools, hospitals, Dharmshalas and markets. He established Daga Hospital in Nagpur, which is now under the Nagpur Municipal Corporation.

The land for Kasturchand Park was also donated by him. Lady Amritbai Daga College, a women's college, located in Nagpur, which was named after his wife, Amritbai Daga, was one of his contributions at the time when women's education was the last priorities in the society.

Kasturchand Daga had donated Rs 3.7 lakh, which facilitated the construction of the first railway line in Bikaner. He alone advanced a loan of Rs 3.46 lakhs towards the expansion of the railway network in Rajasthan.

• He received the title of Rai Bahadur from Bikaner State in 1880; Rai Bahadur from British Government in 1887; Dewan Bahadur in 1903.
• He was honoured with K.I.H. Silver medal in 1898.
• Daga was awarded the Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire in the 1909 New Year Honours and then was made Knight Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire by King George V at the 1911 Delhi Durbar Honours.