The
Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday conferred the rank of Knight Commander
(KBE) on former chairman of the Tata group Ratan Tata. The KBE is one of the highest honours given by the queen to civilians.
Ratan Tata was given the honour for his “services to UK/India relations, inward investment to the UK and philanthropy”.
The Tata group is highly popular in UK.
Iconic British car brands Jaguar and Land Rover became part of the Tata
group in 2008. The company employs over 16,000 people at its
manufacturing facilities in the UK, including 3,500 engineers at its two
product development centres.
Tata’s association with UK academia also dates back to the
establishment of the Sir Ratan Tata Department at the London School of
Economics. Subsequently called the Department of Social
Sciences, it was set up to research the causes of poverty. Its first
lecturer, Clement Attlee, went on to become the British prime minister
who gave India its independence and also set up the British National
Health Service
Tata has maintained close links with the London
School of Economics through a research collaboration with the Tata
Institute of Social Sciences.
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