October 12, 2008

IIT Kharagpur confers doctor of science to Mr Ratan Tata

Mr Ratan N Tata chairman of the TATA Group has been conferred the degree of doctor of science by the board of governors of Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur at its 50th annual convocation recently. The award is to recognize his outstanding leadership in globalizing India and transforming TATA Group as a company to reckon with.

Dr Damodar Acharya director of IIT Kharagpur, while presenting the award to Mr Tata, said that "Mr. Ratan Tata is a towering figure in the Indian engineering industry. Throughout his career in various positions in the TATA Group of Companies, he has set an unparalleled standard of excellence. With few ever to emulate his scale of achievements, he symbolizes India's entry into the global industrial map. Under his leadership, TATA Group has also emerged as one of the most respectable companies in the world, in terms of its contribution to corporate social responsibilities and philanthropy. As an individual, Mr. Tata has long commitment to social uplift of the disadvantaged people."

Every year, IIT Kharagpur honors industrialists, entrepreneurs, scientist and public figures. Some of the past recipients of this coveted award include Mother Teresa, Mr Satyajit Roy, Mr Mani Lal Bhowmik, Dr Suhas Patil, Mr RP Goenka, Dr Raj Reddy, Dr Parveen Chaudhari, Dr CNR Rao, Dr GS Sanyal, Dr Pallab Chatterjee to name a few.

Meanwhile, centre has announced that Mr Tata will be honored with its second highest civilian award the Padma Vibhushan later in 2008. Earlier, in 2000, he had been awarded the Padma Bushan. He has also been conferred an honorary doctorate in business administration by the Ohio State University, an honorary doctorate in technology by the Asian Institute of Technology Bangkok, an honorary doctorate in Science by the University of Warwick and an honorary fellowship by the London School of Economics.