On 29th April 2012, His Majesty The Emperor of Japan honored Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of Tata Group, with The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to strengthening and developing the economic relation between Japan and India. The ceremony for conferment will be held in Tokyo on 8th May 2012 at the Imperial Palace, when Mr. Tata will be conferred the decoration and will be given an audience with His Majesty The Emperor of Japan.

About Mr. Ratan N. Tata:

Mr. Ratan N. Tata is one of the most prominent business personalities of India, who has spearheaded the growth of the Tata Group as one of India's largest industrial conglomerates, boasting sales of more than 20 times as compared with his first days of joining office.

As the private business representative, he is a member of the Trade and Industry Committee chaired by the Prime Minister of India, has served as the chairman of the Investment Commission, and as a member of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council.

Mr. Tata had made a huge contribution from the perspective of promoting trade and investment in industry, as well as for improvement of the business environment in India.

In particular, his achievement as the Chairman of the Investment Commission is tremendous. Discussions and recommendations made by the Commission enabled India’s business environment to achieve an improvement in various ways. Moreover, the number of Japanese companies which expanded their business in India has increased three-fold, (the number of business offices and firms has increased approximately five times) compared with the time when the Commission was founded. Mr. Tata has made a tremendous contribution towards the Japanese companies' foray into India’s industry.

As the chairman of the Tata Group, he is actively promoting the business partnership with Japanese companies, many of whom contributed greatly to the strengthening of economic activity and corporate expansion in India.

He had worked towards the initial establishment of the Japan-India Business Leaders Forum in August 2007, as its member.

This Forum contributed to the early conclusion and implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Japan, and to giving suggestions and proposals to the leaders of the two countries on strengthening strategic relations in the field of energy conservation, manufacturing, and nuclear power.