Dalit entrepreneur Kalpana Saroj, VLCC Founder Vandana Luthra and CMD of Rajshree Group Rajshree Pathy are the three businesswomen selected for Padma Shri awards.
Noted Assamese tea industrialist Hemendra Prasad Barooah and Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industries Chairman Milind Kamble have also been selected for Padma Shri awards.
Godrej is the Chairman of the Godrej Group. He has played an an important role in the development of a variety of industries by leading key organisations of trade and commerce. At present, he also heads industry body CII.
For his contribution to Indian industry, Godrej, who holds a Master's degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been the recipient of several awards and recognitions including the Rajiv Gandhi Award 2002.
R Thyagarajan promoted the Shriram Group Companies in 1974. In the nearly four decades of spearheading the financial conglomerate Shriram Group, Thyagarajan has left his imprint in used-trucks financing business. Besides a post graduate degree in Mathematics, he holds the position of Associate of Chartered Insurance Institute, London.
Kalpana Saroj, also a winner of Rajiv Gandhi Award for Woman Entrepreneurs, has nursed the sick Kamani Tubes Limited back to health.
Vandana Luthra made her entrepreneurial debut in 1989 by opening India's first transformation centre in Delhi. She is the Founder and Mentor of wellness centres VLCC.
Rajshree Pathy, an alumnus of Harvard University USA, is the President of the South Indian Sugar Mills Association.