On December 05, 2005, Ratan Tata was awarded the “Quality of Life Award” at the United Nations in New York.
AU’s College of Human Sciences launched the International Quality of Life Awards as an annual occasion to honor people and partnerships who make significant contributions – in the spirit of the College’s own mission – to individual, family and community well-being and quality of life locally and internationally.
The press release informs
The 2004 honoree – deferred from the previous year – is Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, India’s largest corporation and one that exemplifies corporate philanthropy. The Tata Group returns two-thirds of its profits to the people of India in the form of improvements and contributions that benefit education, health, arts, culture and environmental conservation. Kissinger will present Tata’s award.
Recognized this year as Forbes’ Asian Businessman of the Year, Tata’s nearly $18 billion conglomerate – equivalent to 2.8 percent of India’s gross domestic product – is recognized globally for its high ethical standards and its focus on social responsibility. Newsweek International describes the Tata Group as “a new kind of multinational corporation” and as “a family conglomerate that has gone professional without losing a distinct set of old-school values.”
Tata serves on boards or organizations around the world, among them Mitsubishi Corp., the American International Group, JP Morgan Chase, the Rand Center for Asia Pacific Policy, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s India Aids Initiative and the Ford Foundation. [ link ]
The significance of this award is further exemplified when you take into consideration…
Past honorees include Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu of Capetown, South Africa; Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State; Don Logan, Chairman, Media and Communications Group, Time Warner; Lawrence Klein, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate in Economics; and Catherine Bertini, Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme.
More on Ratan Tata here, here, and here.
[cross-posted on News Views Analysis]