London: In a glittering ceremony held at the prestigious House of Lords, British Parliament, the Institute of Directors (IOD) bestowed the esteemed Distinguished Fellowship 2023 Award upon Dr. Ronald Colaco, an eminent NRI celebrated worldwide for his outstanding philanthropic endeavors. The event, part of IOD's Global Convention, was graced by a distinguished gathering of corporate luminaries and dignitaries from across the globe.

The ceremony was attended by notable personalities, including The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of the City of London, UK, Hon. Paul Scully MP, Minister of London and Parliamentary Undersecretary of State (Minister of Tech and Digital Economy), Govt. Of UK, Lt. Gen. Surinder Nath, PVSM, AVSM (Retd.), President IOD, India. Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE, DL, VP of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), UK, The Rt. Hon. Lord Swraj Paul of Marylebone, PC, Sadguru Sri Madusudhan Sai, Spiritual & Social Leader, India, Gopichand P Hinduja, Chairman, The Hinduja Group, UK, Shriti Vadera, Baroness Vadera, PC, Chair of Nomination and Governance Committee, UK, Mohit Ralhan, Global CEO & Managing Partner of TIW Capital, Singapore, Dr. Tayer Kamali, UAE Chairman of Board of Trustees, Abu Dhabi School of Management, and UAE Chairman of IOD, India, Navin B Chawla IAS, Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Ashok Kapur, IAS (Rtd.), Director General of Institute of Directors, India, Srinivasan Sathyamoorthy, Former Auditor General of India and Advisor, TIW Capital, India, Desh Deepak Verma, IAS, Former Secretary General, Rajya Sabha, Parliament of India.

This grand occasion was attended by hundreds of eminent personalities, directors, and CEOs from over 20 countries. Dr. Colaco, previously honored by the World Book of Records, London, during the Indo-UK Summit in 2022, received the Certificate of Excellence for his exceptional contributions to Karnataka’s societal upliftment. His pioneering services, spanning over three decades, were recognized in more than 25 fields, leading to this remarkable achievement.

The Distinguished Fellowship 2023 Award was conferred upon Dr. Colaco by The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Hon. Paul Scully MP, and Lt. Gen. Surinder Nath, PVSM, AVSM (Retd.), President IOD, India, on behalf of the Institute of Directors, India. The certificate was signed by Justice M N Venkatachaliah, the Former Chief Justice of India and Chairman of Institute of Directors.

In addition to this prestigious honor, Dr. Colaco was recently recognized as the “ASIAONE Global Indian of the Year 2022,” joining the ranks of luminaries such as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi, and Reliance Foundation Chairperson Nita Ambani. Times Now media, in collaboration with ICICI Bank, also bestowed upon him the “Global NRI of the Year 2017 award in Philanthropy,” a testament to his unwavering commitment to social welfare.

Dr. Colaco's accolades, spanning countries such as the USA, Canada, Australia, London, Europe, and several Middle Eastern nations, have earned him more than 44 prestigious awards, solidifying his status as a global beacon of philanthropy and social change.

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.



New Delhi (PTI): The Union Environment Ministry has told the Supreme Court that it has no objection with the Central Empowered Committee's proposed 10-member high-powered expert committee which has been tasked to come up with a uniform definition for the Aravalli hills and ranges.

In an affidavit filed before the top court, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has endorsed the names suggested for the high-powered expert committee comprising in-service and retired bureaucrats associated with the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Survey of India, along with academicians.

"The MoEFCC respectfully submits that it has no objection if this court as the aforesaid suggested names for the constitution of the proposed High Powered Committee. It is further submitted that the Ministry does not have any additional names to propose at this stage for inclusion in the said committee," the affidavit said.

The committee is proposed to be headed by Kanchan Devi, the current director general of the Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education.

The MoEF, in its affidavit, said the aspects relating to the Aravalli Hills and Ranges require a comprehensive and analytical examination, including stakeholder consultation, by a group of domain experts in the relevant fields.

The CEC in its report to the apex court said Devi, a 1991 Indian Forest Service officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre, has over three decades of experience in forestry education and research, wildlife and forest policy, and institutional leadership.

The other members include Subhash Ashutosh, former director general of FSI,

former GSI director Rajendra Kumar Sharma, climate and energy policy expert Tejal Kanitkar, senior academician and life sciences researcher Jaya Parkash Yadav, senior geographer and scholar Tejbir Singh Rana, former additional surveyor general of India SV Singh, former Gujarat principal chief conservator of forests CN Pandey, and former Nagaland PCCF Dharmendra Prakash.

The CEC also recommended names of RN Mishra, a noted author and Vijay Dhasmana, an ecological restoration practitioner and conservationist.

On February 26, the top court had asked the environment ministry and other stakeholders to suggest names of domain experts for the panel which would define the Aravalli hills and ranges, and observed that only lawful mining would be allowed in the region.

The top court, on December 29, took note of the outcry over the new definition of the Aravallis and kept in abeyance its November 20 directions that accepted a uniform definition of these hills and ranges. It had also stalled all mining activities.

It remarked that there was a need to resolve "critical ambiguities", including whether the criteria of 100-metre elevation and the 500-metre gap between hills would strip a significant portion of the range of environmental protection.