Dr Swati Piramal, the vice-chairperson of the Mumbai-headquartered Piramal Group, has been conferred France’s top civilian honour for contributions in the fields of business and industry, science, medicine, and towards strengthening Indo-French ties.
The Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, or Knight of the Legion of Honour, was conferred in an investiture ceremony by Catherine Colonna, France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, during a visit to India this week. The award was conferred on behalf of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Colonna said: “Dr Piramal is not only a leading and outstanding businesswoman, but also a businesswoman who gives back to society.
“Her strong influence on business and industry, public policy, healthcare governance and women’s leadership is widely recognised in India and abroad. Through this award, France also wishes to recognise Dr Piramal at the highest level as a true friend of France, a driving force to advance Indo-French ties in the fields of science, arts, culture, cuisine, and business.”
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For Piramal, it follows the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite, or France’s second highest civilian honour Knight of the Order of Merit, in 2016. As a leading scientist and industrialist, Piramal says her focus has been on innovations, new medicines, and public health and she also believes in encouraging India-France ties across business and industry, innovation, and arts and culture.
Dr Piramal said: “I am truly humbled to be conferred the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. This honour is also a recognition of the efforts by my colleagues at Piramal, both in India and internationally, across trade and business, science, arts, and culture.
“The recognition motivates us to work towards further strengthening bilateral relations between the two nations. Piramal Group has a long relationship with France, both in arts and culture and in business. I am confident that the recognition will take our partnership to even greater heights in the coming time.”
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Piramal is also a recipient of the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian honours of India, as a champion of developing frameworks and policies to support women in leadership roles. She has served as a member of the Prime Minister of India’s Trade Advisory Council and the Scientific Advisory Council and is currently on the Harvard Global Advisory Council.
“As the director of Piramal Foundation, she is also involved in developing innovative long-term and scalable solutions that will provide further impetus to India’s economic and social progress. She leads the foundation's efforts towards effective public policy and governance in public health, water and education through private-public-partnership (PPP) models for solutions and contributes to India's Sustainable Development Goals,” the Piramal Group said.
*Info: Dr Swati Piramal
