Venu Srinivasan, chairman of TVS Motor Company, has been conferred an honorary Doctorate of Management degree by Purdue University, USA.

The honour was conferred on him during spring commencement ceremonies at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus on May 17 in recognition of his contributions in the field of management. Mr Srinivasan is an engineer with a master's degree in management from Purdue.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Srinivasan said, “I am humbled and deeply moved with this honour. The very fact that this recognition has come from my alma mater makes it all the more special to me. Over the years, it has been heartening to witness Purdue grow from strength to strength to become one of the top universities in the world and I am proud to be an alumnus of this glorious institution. I feel gratified to have been able to give back to Purdue by providing students with a unique study abroad experience through global internship programs which expose them to best practices within India's manufacturing sector.”

Over his long and distinguished career, Mr Srinivasan has received several awards including the prestigious Padma Shri for his outstanding contributions in the field of trade and industry and the distinguished civilian 'Order of Diplomatic Service Merit' (Heung-In Medal) conferred by the president of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-bak, in recognition of his contribution in promoting Korea-India bilateral relations. He is also the recipient of ‘Doctor of Science’ accolades from IIT Kharagpur and the University of Warwick, for his contribution to manufacturing, R&D, technology and quality excellence. He has also received the Ishikawa-Kano award from the Asian Network of Quality, the apex body for quality in Asia, which covers 18 countries including Japan, China, India, Korea, and Thailand. Mr Srinivasan was awarded the JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award by the All India Management Association for his contribution to leadership and management and the Jamsetji Tata Lifetime Achievement Award by the Indian Society for Quality.

Mr Srinivasan, who is the honorary Consul General of the Republic of Korea, Chennai, and a member of the prime minister's council in trade and industry, is also a member of both the prime minister's Scientific Advisory Council and the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council. He is chairman of the National Safety Council, government of India. He has also been president of the Confederation of Indian Industries.

Under Mr Srinivasan's  leadership, Sundaram Clayton and TVS Motor Co were awarded the Deming Prize by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE).

Photograph: TVS Motor Co’s Venu Srinivasan with Purdue University’s president and former governor of Indiana, Mitchell Daniel.