Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Padma Bhushan for ‘dear friend’ Sudha Murty

Author and philanthropist Sudha Murty was named as one of the nine recipients of India’s third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, on the eve of Republic Day. Her friend Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson of Biocon, celebrated the award by highlighting Murty’s efforts to serve the underprivileged.

“So very proud that my dear friend Sudha Murthy was awarded the Padma Bhushan,” Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw wrote on Twitter this morning. “She has always inspired me with her sense of social equity and I salute her for her untiring endeavour to serve the underserved.”

So very proud that my dear friend Sudha Murthy was awarded the Padma Bhushan - she has always inspired me with her sense of social equity and I salute her for her untiring endeavour to serve the underserved Jai Hind pic.twitter.com/cjqwFdV3kV

— Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (@kiranshaw) January 26, 2023

Sudha Murty, 72, served as chairperson of the Infosys Foundation for over two decades during which she oversaw the Foundation’s wide-ranging philanthropic efforts. When Murty set up the foundation in 1996, they started with an annual grant of Rs 32 lakh from Infosys. Today, the philanthropic arm of Infosys has a corpus of over Rs 400 crore and has positively impacted the lives of millions with its initiatives.

“I’m very happy and honoured to be in the august company of Padma awardees. I will put in more effort to contribute and render my services to support causes in the best possible way,” she told Times of India over a phone call after the Padma Award recipients were announced.