The Engineering Council of India has been giving these awards since 2012 to acknowledge professionals for their exemplary contributions to engineering
Dr Pramod Chaudhari, the founder and chairman of Indian industrial biotech company, Praj Industries, recently received the Eminent Engineer Award from the Engineering Council of India (ECI) in the industry category. Dr V K Saraswat, a member of Niti Aayog bestowed this award last week during ECI’s National Conference & Foundation Day in New Delhi. Dr Saraswat applauded the contributions of Dr Pramod Chaudhari in integrating engineering with basic sciences. While addressing the gathering, he emphasized the crucial role that engineers are playing in the overall growth story of the Indian economy, including infrastructure development.
Thanking the jury for acknowledging his efforts in mainstreaming bioeconomy, Dr Pramod Chaudhari remarked, “This award is not just recognition of Praj’s innovative contributions in bioeconomy but also an encouragement to the entire bioenergy fraternity. I dedicate this award to my professors and mentors who have always been a source of inspiration. This will motivate me to strive harder to conquer new frontiers in bioeconomy.”
It is learnt that Dr Kirit Parikh (former Member, Planning Commission), Dr R.A. Mashelkar (former Secretary, DSIR), Mr B Muthuraman (Former Vice Chairman- Tata Steel), Dr D V Kapur (Former Secretary, Heavy Industry and founder Chairman, NTPC) and previous Eminent Engineer awardees- Dr Vijay Bhatkar and Dr Aniruddha Pandit together comprised the high-level jury for the award this year.
Notably, ECI acknowledges professionals for their exemplary contributions to engineering in the industry and research category and bestows the ‘Eminent Engineers Awards’ every year since 2012. The official statement listed the names of stalwarts like Mr N R Narayana Murthy, Mr Mukesh Ambani, Mr Baba Kalyani, and Mr Nandan Nilekani as the past recipients of this award in the industry category. In the research category, it included the names of Dr Anil Kakodkar, Prof M. M. Sharma, and Dr Tessy Thomas among others.
Listed on the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges of India, over-four decades-old Praj is India’s leading industrial biotechnology company focussing on the environment, energy, and agri-process industry. The BioMobility platform claims to offer technology solutions globally to produce the renewable transportation fuel, thus ensuring sustainable decarbonization through a ‘circular bioeconomy’.
The Engineering Council of India (ECI) is the apex body for the engineering profession and works for its advancement in the country. It organizes national conferences and different activities on important themes relevant to the engineering profession’s role in national economic development.
