Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw awarded Australia's highest civilian honour

On Friday, January 19, woman entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw was conferred with Australia's highest civilian honour, the Order of Australia award. Kiran Mazumdar who is the Founder, Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon, Asia’s leading biopharmaceutical enterprise was awarded the honour for her contribution towards advancing the country's relationship with India. 

Mazumdar-Shaw who is also an Australian Global Alumni Ambassador took to Twitter to express her happiness over getting awarded with the highest civilian honour saying that she was "humbled."

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Fourth Indian to receive the order

Australia's High Commissioner to India Harinder Sidhu invited Mazumdar-Shaw as an Honorary Member within the Order of Australia (AM) in the General Division at a ceremony in Bengaluru on Friday, the Australian High Commission said in a statement.

The statement explained that it was for her elaborate contributions in promoting women in STEM fields through joint research programs developed between Biocon and Deakin University, Australia, that made her qualify for the award.

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'She contributes immensely to promoting women in STEM through the joint research programmes developed between Biocon and Deakin University, Australia, as part of her deep and long-standing commitment to gender equality', the statement added.

Mazumdar was recently listed as the 65th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes. She is also on the Financial Times’ top 50 women in business list. She has also been a recipient of the  Padma Shri & Padma Bhushan. 

By getting the Order of Australia honour she becomes the fourth Indian ever to have received it following Mother Teresa in 1982,  Former Attorney General of India Soli Jehangir Sorabjee in 2006 and Sachin Tendulkar in 2012.

(With Agency Inputs)

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