CHENNAI: Krishnammal Jagannathan - Padma Bhushan for social work
Krishnammal was born to a landless Adi Dravida family in 1926 at Ayyankottai in Dindigul district. She has been serving the Adi Dravidas for their sustainable development. She won the Alternate Nobel Prize in 2009. She was nominated for Gandhian peace award in 2016. She met and worked with eminent leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King II and Martin Luther King Junior III.
Krishnammal’s vision was to redistribute land with patta in women’s names. She also inculcated political empowerment by forming Grama Sabhas before implementation of the 73rd amendment to the Constitution. She, along with her husband Jagannathan has been fighting liquor menace.
Venu Srinivasan- Padma Bhushan for contribution to trade and industry
Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Motor Company, India and Former President of CII Venu Srinivasan pioneered the Total Quality Management concept based on Japanese model, long before most enterprises in India did.
His obsession with excellence and quality bore rich dividends with Sundaram Clayton and TVS Motor Company winning global quality benchmark - the Deming Application Prize in 2002. As part of the social outreach of TVS Motors and Sundaram-Clayton, he oversees Srinivasan Services Trust (SST), which works in 5000 villages in India. SST’s model is one of self-development for village communities in India.