India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu handed over the Padma Bhushan, one of the country’s highest civilian Awards, to Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai in San Fransisco.
Taking to Twitter, Sandhu said, “Delighted to hand over Padma Bhushan to CEO @Google & Alphabet @sundarpichai in San Francisco. Sundar’s inspirational journey from #Madurai to Mountain View, strengthening India-US economic and technology ties, reaffirms Indian talent’s contribution to global innovation.”
On the eve of the 73rd Republic Day, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that Sundar Pichai would be conferred with Padma Bhushan.
Pichai after receiving the Padma Bhushan in his blog said, “I want to thank Ambassador Sandhu and Consul General Prasad for hosting me to receive the Padma Bhushan. I am deeply grateful to the Indian government and the people of India for this immense honour. It is incredibly meaningful to be honoured in this way by the country that shaped me.”
“India is a part of me. I carry it with me wherever I go. (Unlike this beautiful award which I will keep somewhere safe),” he added.
Appreciating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India vision, Pichai said that Digital India’s vision has certainly been an accelerator for that progress. He also said that he felt proud to continue its investment in India, partnering with governments, businesses and communities over two transformative decades.
“We recently announced that we’ll be investing USD 10 billion in India’s digital future, working to enable more affordable internet access, building products for India’s unique needs, helping businesses of all sizes in their digital transformation, and using AI to tackle big societal challenges,” Google CEO said.