Covid vaccine experts, community and trade champions among British Indians honoured by Queen

Healthcare, community efforts and vaccine development are in the spotlight for the Queen’s Birthday Honours List this year, with several British Indians among those honoured for their services to the country’s Covid-19 response.

Kolkata-born Divya Chadha Manek has been honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her involvement in the research and development of vaccines and the resulting clinical trials. Chadha Manek, now Director of Business Development and Marketing at the government’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN), was at the heart of ensuring the COVID-19 vaccines could be put through the requisite trials for a timely deployment as the Clinical Trials Workstream Lead at the UK’s Vaccine Taskforce.

OBEs have also gone to Jasvinder Singh Rai, Founder and Chairman of the Sikh Recovery Network for services to the Sikh community, and Jasjyot Singh of the Lloyds Banking Group for services to financial services during the pandemic.

Those honoured as Members of the British Empire (MBE) include Devina Banerjee, from the Vaccine Taskforce, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; Anoop Jivan Chauhan, Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Executive Director of Research, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust; and Dr Ananthakrishnan Raghuram, Consultant Physician, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Those receiving MBEs also include Amika Sara George, Founder of #FreePeriods Campaign, for services to education, and Priya Guha, Venture Partner, Merian Ventures, and Member, Innovate UK Council, for services to international trade and women-led innovation.

The Queen’s Birthday Honours List are released annually to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II’s official birthday celebrations in June.

*Here are some Global Indian highlights from the 2021 Birthday Honours List:

OFFICERS OF THE ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

Professor Jagjit Singh Chadha

Director, National Institute of Economic and Social Research. For services to Economics and Economic Policy (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire)

Lolita Chakrabarti

Actress and Writer. For services to Drama (London, Greater London)

Divya Chadha Manek

Clinical Trials, Workstream Lead, Vaccine Taskforce. For services to Government during the Covid-19 Response (London, Greater London)

Mohan Mansigani

Trustee, St John Ambulance. For charitable services to Healthcare (London, Greater London)

Jasvinder Singh Rai

Founder and Chairman, Sikh Recovery Network. For services to the Sikh community during the Covid-19 Pandemic (Derby, Derbyshire)

Jasjyot Singh

Managing Director, Consumer and Business Banking, Lloyds Banking Group. For services to Financial Services during Covid-19 (London, Greater London)

Sumita Singha

For services to Architecture (London, Greater London)

MEMBERS OF THE ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

Devina Banerjee

Vaccine Landscape and Portfolio, Vaccine Taskforce, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. For services to Covid-19 Vaccine Development (Carshalton, Greater London)

Rashmi Shahina Becker

Founder, Step to Change Studios. For charitable services to People with Disabilities

Professor Anoop Jivan Chauhan

Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Executive Director of Research, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust. For services to Respiratory Medicine (Southampton, Hampshire)

Vimalkumar Choksi

Councillor, Ashton Waterloo, Tameside. For services to the community in Greater Manchester (Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester)

Gurveer Dhami

Senior Private Secretary to the Secretary Of State For Education. For services to Education (London, Greater London)

Amika Sara George

Founder, #FreePeriods Campaign. For services to Education (London, Greater London)

Sumit Goyal

Consultant Oncoplastic Surgeon, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. For services to Breast Cancer and Cardiff Breast Centre Charity (Cardiff, South Glamorgan)

Priya Guha

Venture Partner, Merian Ventures, and Member, Innovate UK Council. For services to International Trade and Women-Led Innovation (London, Greater London)

Kiran Kumari Jassal

Senior Operational Manager, HM Prison Winchester. For services to the HM Prison and Probation Service during Covid-19 and to Diversity and Inclusion (Woking, Surrey)

Davinder John Lail

Head of Ozone Depleting Substances and Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Team, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. For services to the Environment (London, Greater London)

Neena Mahal DL

Chair, NHS Lanarkshire. For services to Healthcare (Caumbernauld, Dunbartonshire)

Dr Murthy Lakshmi Narayana Motupalli

General Practitioner, NHS East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group. For services to Education, Training and Support for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Doctors and to General Practice (Blackburn, Lancashire)

Sarah-Jane Mukherjee

For services to British Agriculture and Farmer Wellbeing (Royston, Hertfordshire)

Meera Naran

Campaigner, Road Safety on Smart Motorways. For services to Road Safety (Leicester, Leicestershire)

Dr Ananthakrishnan Raghuram

Consultant Physician, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. For services to the NHS and the Covid-19 Response (Cheltenham, Gloucestershire)

Kermal Singh

Police Staff, Avon and Somerset Constabulary. For services to Policing and Diversity (Downend, Gloucestershire)

Reshma Sohoni

Co-founder, Seedcamp. For services to the British Technology Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (London, Greater London)

MEDALLISTS OF THE ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

Harmit Ahluwalia

For services to the community in East London during Covid-19 (London, Greater London)

Harpreet Bains

For services to the community in the London Borough of Ealing during the Covid-19 Pandemic (London, Greater London)

Santokh Singh Dhaliwal

Coordinator and Treasurer, 50 Plus Group, Indian Community Centre Association Nottingham. For services to the Indian community in Nottingham (Nottingham, Nottinghamshire)

Pooja Kawa

Manufacturing Strategy Lead, Vaccines Taskforce, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. For services to the Development of a Covid-19 Vaccine (London, Greater London)

Manoj Kumar Lal

Immigration Officer, Immigration Enforcement, Home Office. For services to Assisting Vulnerable Migrants in the West Midlands (Brierley Hill, West Midlands)

Rajendra Parshotam Popat Pankhania

For services to Older People and to the community in Stanmore, North London (Northwood, Hertfordshire)

Idris Patel

Chief Executive Officer, Supporting Humanity. For services to the community in Ilford, London Borough of Redbridge during Covid-19 (London, Greater London)

Nikhil Santos

Catering Manager, St Mary's University, Twickenham. For services to Higher Education (London, Greater London)

Daksha Varsani

For services to the community in London during Covid-19 (London, Greater London)

POLICE MEDAL

Bhupinder Kaur Rai

Temporary Chief Superintendent, Thames Valley Police