Wipro Chairman Azim Premji conferred highest French civilian honour
Bengaluru, Nov 28: IT czar and philanthropist Azim Premji was bestowed with the highest French civilian distinction Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) here Wednesday.
Premji, who is the chairman of Bengaluru-headquartered IT major Wipro, received the distinction from the Ambassador of France to India Alexandre Ziegler here, Wipro said.
"The award was bestowed on Azim Premji for his outstanding contribution to developing the information technology industry in India, his economic outreach in France, and his laudable contribution to society as a philanthropist through the Azim Premji Foundation and Azim Premji University," Ziegler said.
In his acceptance speech, Premji said, "I am extremely honored by the award bestowed on me. The vibrancy of the French democracy and its diversity is an inspiration to all across the world."
The Legion d'Honneur (Legion of Honour), instituted in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipients.
The President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the Order of the Legion of Honour.
Some of the past Indian recipients of the prestigious award include renowned scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee C N R Rao, Tamil actor late Sivaji Ganesan, actor Kamal Haasan, Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee and superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
Wipro said its association with France spans over 15 years and the company enjoys a close relationship with several French organisations.
Nearly 65 per cent of Wipro's employees in France are locals.
France is a key market for Wipro and the company is committed to continued investments there, it added.
Premji's wife Yasmeen Premji and son Rishad Premji and Francois Gautier, Consul General of France, were present on the occasion.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
13,712-page chargesheet filed in Hassan pen drive obscene video case
Hassan: In a major development in the pen drive obscene video circulation case that created a stir in Hassan, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has filed a detailed chargesheet running into 13,712 pages before a senior civil court in the district.
According to SIT sources, the chargesheet names a total of 52 individuals, out of whom charges have been confirmed against 39 persons. Investigation against the remaining individuals is still underway.
The key accused have been identified as Naveen (A1), Karthik N. (A2), who is a car driver, Chetan B.C. (A3), Chetan Y.S. (A4) and Likhith Gowda (A5). They are accused of being actively involved in the recording, storage and distribution of the videos.
Several other names have also been included in the chargesheet as part of the investigation, officials said, adding that further probe is continuing.
Reacting to the development, advocate and BJP leader Devarajegowda alleged that key accused have been left out of the chargesheet. He claimed that despite widespread knowledge about those involved in distributing the pen drives, their names do not appear in the chargesheet and termed the investigation a “false report.”
