Mallika Srinivasan, chairman and CEO of the TAFE Group, has been conferred the Padma Shri by the government of India for her contribution to trade and industry. She received the prestigious award from the president of India Pranab Mukherjee at a function held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on April 26.

On receiving the award, Ms Srinivasan said, “I am deeply honored on being recognised with the Padma Shri award by the government of India. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the TAFE team, both past and present, for raising TAFE to its current status, transitioning from a domestic company to a conglomerate centered around human values, and acclaimed for its mass manufacturing capability.”

“I believe that Indian enterprise and engineering has evolved to attain international levels of competence, and all that remains for us is to invest in processes and relevant technology to offer products for global markets. I would also like to thank my family for their support,” she added.

Under Mallika Srinivasan’s stewardship, TAFE emerged as one of the world’s top three tractor manufacturers and India’s largest exporter of tractors.  

Ms Srinivasan initiated steps to tap global markets to balance the swings in demand in a cyclical industry. She significantly contributed to developing new products of TAFE to meet emerging customer demands for tractors and agriculture machinery, and exponential growth of TAFE’s exports. TAFE products are now sold in over 75 countries spanning South Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and North America.