Tata Sons’ Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata has been conferred with Australia’s highest civilian honour, the country’s High Commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell announced on Twitter. The Order of Australia (AO) award was presented for the industrialist’s efforts in strengthening the India-Australia bilateral relations.
The foreign diplomat shared pictures from the ceremony on Saturday and added that Tata’s contributions have led to a lasting impact in the island nation.
He wrote, “Ratan Tata is a titan of biz, industry and philanthropy not just in India, but his contributions have also made a significant impact in Australia. Delighted to confer Order of Australia (AO) honour to Ratan Tata in recognition of his longstanding commitment to the Australian and Indian relationship.”
The 85-year-old has batted for the 2022 India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, while Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reportedly employs the biggest Australian workforce of any Indian firm with about17,000 employees.
The honour comes a month after the business magnate was appointed as an Honorary Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) for his service to foster Indo-Aus ties, specifically in trade, investment, and philanthropy.
In October 2022, Tata received ‘Sewa Ratna’ from the RSS-affiliated Sewa Bharti for his philanthropic pursuits. He is also a 2008 recipient of India’s second-highest civilian award, thePadma Vibhushan.
Recently Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates visited the Tata Sons chairman and chairperson of the Tata Group Natarajan Chandrasekaran in India, and discussed charitable endeavours. Tata and Gates had a conversation about enhancing their collaboration and teaming together for nutrition, diagnostics, and health.
