Bhavan’s Nandakumara, Wockhardt UK executive Limaye chosen for honorary British awards

Wockhardt UK managing director Ravindra Limaye and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan UK’s executive director Mattur Nandakumara have been chosen for honorary British awards given to foreign nationals.

Limaye gets the Order of the British Empire (OBE) honour for his contribution to health, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nandakumara has been selected for the Member of the British Empire award to recognise his contribution to the teaching, performance and accessibility of Indian classical arts.

The honours were announced on Thursday (13).

Ravindra Limaye (Image credit: wockhardt.com)

Limaye has been the chief executive of the UK arm of the Mumbai-based pharma and biotech company Wockhardt since 2019.

He previously worked for another Indian pharma company Biocon, overseeing its global commercial operations. He led the company’s entry into global biosimilar markets and spearheaded its operations in the US.

He had earlier been associated with GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis.

Nandakumara, who secured his PhD degree from the University of London, has been promoting Indian classical arts in the UK for more than four decades. The scholar of Sanskrit language, literature and philosophy is also a known public speaker, having delivered talks at Westville University in Durban, S Africa and the University of Cambridge.

Nandakumara is from India’s Sanskrit-speaking village of Mattur and heads the Bhavan, the largest Indian arts organisation outside India.

Among other Asians chosen for the honorary awards are Mridula Chakraborty who is a principal engineer in the Glasgow-based firm TUV NEL Ltd. She is honoured with the MBE award for her charitable services to the Asian community in Scotland.

Smita Arattukulam, who works as vice consul in the UK embassy in Oman, is selected for the British Empire Medal for her services to British nationals in the west Asian sultanate.