OREANDA-NEWS. January 27, 2012. The President of India has approved 109 Padma Awards comprising five Padma Vibhushan, 27 Padma Bhushan and 77 Padma Shri Awards. Padma Awards, the country's highest civilian awards, are given in all disciplines / fields of activities, such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. B Muthuraman, vice chairman, Tata Steel, has been conferred Padma Bhushan this year.

Mr Muthuraman holds degrees in Bachelor of Technology in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT, Madras, and a Masters of Business Administration from XLRI, Jamshedpur. He has also completed the Advanced Management Programme at the European Centre for Executive Development, France, and has undergone the Leadership Programme at INSEAD, France. He was recently bestowed an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa from Loyola University, Chicago.

Mr Muthuraman joined Tata Steel in 1966 and has held various positions at the company including vice president (marketing and sales) and vice president (cold rolling mill projects). He was appointed as executive director in 2000, managing director of the company in 2001 and non-executive vice chairman in 2009. He is the chairman of Tata International and on the boards of several companies which include, Bosch, Tata Industries and Strategic Energy Technology Systems. He is currently the president of Confederation of Indian Industry.

Mr Muthuraman is also the chairman of the Board of Governors of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jamshedpur, and member of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras). He is member of the governing council of The National Institute of Design (NID). He is also a member of the Business Advisory Council of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

Mr Muthuraman received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Madras in 1997 and the Tata Gold Medal from the Indian Institute of Metals in 2002. He also received the CEO of the Year Award from Business Standard in 2005, CEO with HR Orientation Award from World HRD Congress in 2005, Economic Times Award for Corporate Excellence in 2008 and IIM JRD Tata Award conferred by the Indian Institute of Metals.