Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata was on Saturday conferred the first ever 'Udyog Ratna' award instituted by the Maharashtra government at his home in Mumbai as he would not be attending the award function due to ill health.
The award was presented to the 85-year-old chairman emeritus of Tata Sons by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar at the industrialist's home in Colaba.
The honour comprised a shawl, a citation and a memento from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).
Talking to reporters afterwards, Shinde said honouring Tata as 'Udyog Ratna' has enhanced the prestige of the award.
"The contribution of the Tata group in all sectors is immense. Tata means trust," he said.
The steel-to-salt group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents. In 2021-22, the collective revenue of Tata companies stood at $128 billion.
Three other awards are to be presented during the award function that will be held at the Jio World Convention Centre at the Jio World COnvention Centre. Udyog Mitra to Serum Institute of India will be awarded to the Serum Institue of India CEO Adar Poonawalla, Udyogini to Kirloskar Group's Gauri Kirloskar and Utkrusht Marathi Udyojak to Vilas Shinde.
The function would be presided over by the Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais in the presence of CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Minister of Skills, Employement, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Mangal Prabhat Lodha and Industries Minister Uday Samant.
These awards come at a time when the government is facing criticism over big projects like Vedanta-Foxconn and Tata-Airbus moving to Gujarat.
With input from agencies.
