Renowned industrialist Ashok S Ganguly, engineering major Larsen and Toubro?s chairman AM Naik and Tata Sons director RK Krishna Kumar are among the five industry icons to be conferred with Padma awards for 2009.
Ganguly is being conferred with the country?s second highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan, while Anil Manibhai Naik has been selected for Padma Bhushan. Krishna Kumar, vice chairman of Tata group?s Indian Hotels, textile industry veteran Arunmugam Sakhtivel and NRI businessman Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty will be given Padma Shri awards.
Ganguly is a member of the Prime Minister?s Council on Trade and Industry as well as the Investment Commission and the India-USA CEO Council, set up by the Prime Minister of India and the President of the US. He is also a member of the National Knowledge Commission to the Prime Minister of India.
Ganguly also serves as chairman of FirstSource Solutions Ltd and ABP Private Limited (Ananda Bazar Patrika Group) and has been a director on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India since November 2000.
Naik is the chairman and managing director of L&T, which he joined in 1965 as a junior engineer and soon became the youngest manager in Larsen & Toubro history.
Naik also serves as Honorary Consul General for Denmark, is a senior member of the Confederation of Indian Industry, member of the Board of Trade and is on the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Krishna Kumar is currently a director on the Tata Sons board, chairman of Tata Coffee and Asian Coffee, and vice-chairman of Tata Tea and of Indian Hotels. He is a director in several enterprises, including Rallis India, Watawala Plantations, Tata Tetley and Tata Tea Incorporated (US).
NRI entrepreneur BR Shetty, also known as Raghu Bhai, is the founder partner and CEO of diversified business group NMC, which is mainly into healthcare business and runs the NMC Hospitals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and the New Medical Centre in Sharjah.
Besides, NMC is also into various businesses including financial services to trading in pharmaceuticals, gold and diamond jewellery, advertising, real estate and information technology, among others.
Shetty was conferred Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award during Pravasi Bharatiya Divas for 2007, in recognition of his outstanding contribution towards the betterment of the large NRI community.
A Sakthivel, president of Tirupur Exporters Association and All India President of Federation of Indian Export Organisations, is also being feted. He is the managing director for Poppys Knitwear Private Ltd, a leading knitwear exporter.