ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE
PA/20/07 20 November 2007
Nine prominent Indians receive inaugural Australia-India Council Special Awards
Nine prominent Indians were awarded the Australia-India Council Special Awards on Monday, an honour recognising their exceptional contribution toward strengthening Australia-India relations.
Awards were presented to Mr Tarun Das (business), Dr Jasleen Dhamija (art), Dr Jamshed Irani (bilateral relations), Mr O P Jain (culture), Mr Suresh Kalmadi (sports), Mr S K Misra (conservation), Dr Rajendra K Pachauri (environment), Professor Santosh Sareen (education) and Mr Soli Sorabjee (law).
An initiative of the Australia-India Council (AIC), the awards were presented at a ceremony at the Australian High Commissioner, Mr John McCarthy’s residence in Delhi, with several members of the Council present. The awards were presented by the High Commissioner and Mr Darren Gribble, Chairman of the AIC and a former Australian High Commissioner to India.
“The Australia-India Council was established to forge people-to-people linkages between our countries 15 years ago”, said Mr McCarthy. “After over a decade of building upon the initiative, the Council wanted to express its appreciation to the extraordinary people who exemplify its goals”, added Mr McCarthy.
“I congratulate each award recipient for their valuable role in fostering people-to-people relations between Australia and India,” said Mr Gribble.
AIC Special Awards will also be presented to four prominent Indians in Chennai later this week. These include luminaries in business, sports, education, bilateral relations and community service.
For further information, please contact, Ms Asha Das, Country Manager, Australia- India Council, on (0) 9810860451.