PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, Feb 14: A proud moment for Jamshedpur, India and those in Tata Group.
Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran was awarded the Knighthood ‘Most Excellent Order of the British Empire’, the group said on Friday. Chandrasekaran got the civilian award for his services to India and UK business relations.
An honorary knighthood is the highest honour bestowed by the British monarch to people who have made significant contributions to society. It can be given to foreign citizens. The knighthood is bestowed under the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE).
Know N Chandrasekaran
Chandrasekaran’s rise to prominence is an inspiring tale of hard work and determination. Born in 1963 in Mohanur, Tamil Nadu, into a family of farmers, he attended a government school before earning his bachelor’s degree in Applied Sciences from the Coimbatore Institute of Technology.
His thirst for knowledge led him to pursue a Master of Computer Applications (MCA) from the Regional Engineering College in Tiruchirappalli.
Chandrasekaran became the chairman of Tata Sons in January 2017. He was appointed chairman after serving as the CEO and Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) from 2009 to 2017.
Notably, Chandrasekaran was the first chairman of Tata Sons who was not related to the Tata family. He chairs the boards of several Tata group companies, including Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, and Tata Consumer Products.
Also Read- Jharkhand to launch 6 portals to enhance transparency, efficiency in higher education
In 2022, he was awarded the coveted Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. In 2023, he was awarded the Knight of the Legion of Honour by the President of France.
Chandrasekaran express gratitude to King Charles III
Chandrasekaran thanked King Charles III after receiving the recognition, “I am deeply humbled by this prestigious recognition for which I am grateful to His Majesty King Charles. I would like to express how proud we are at the Tata Group to maintain such a strong strategic relationship with the UK across the technology, consumer, hospitality, steel chemicals, and automotive sectors. We are incredibly proud of our iconic British brands like Jaguar, Land Rover and Tetley. We employ more than 70,000 people in the UK. We enjoy fruitful and world-class research and academic partnerships with great institutions in this country.”
Chandrasekaran concluded by saying, “I would like to express, on behalf of Tata Group, my deep thanks to His Majesty government for their support for the Group. It is a strong and enduring relationship and I look forward to strengthening our presence in the UK further.”
Honorary Knighthood and Indian recipients
Bharti Enterprises Chairman and founder Sunil Bharti Mittal became the first Indian citizen to be conferred an honorary Knighthood by Britain’s King Charles III ‘for services to UK and India business relations in February 2024.
Previous Indian recipients of the Honorary KBE included Ratan Tata (2009), Ravi Shankar (2001), and Jamshed Irani (1997), conferred by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
