Kiran Mazumdar Shaw becomes the recipient of the highest French honor

Biocon chairperson and managing director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has been appointed as 'Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la LAgion d'Honneur' (Knight of the National Order of the French Legion of Honour) for her outstanding contribution and dedication to Biosciences and Research field globally.

The award will be conferred on behalf of the President of the French Republic at a special ceremony later this year, Biocon said in Bengaluru in a statement.

It is an absolute privilege for me to be appointed 'Chevalier l'Ordre National de la LAgion d'Honneur' and I am deeply grateful to the French government for this great honour. I owe this recognition to my wonderful team at Biocon who have joined me in my mission to harness the power of Biotechnology to provide affordable access to life saving bio pharmaceuticals for Cancer and Diabetes, she said.

Chevalier l'Ordre National de la LAgion d'Honneur, created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, is the highest civilian award of the French Republic for outstanding contribution in diverse fields bestowed on citizens of the world. The award is conferred by the President of the French Republic.

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Other Indians to have received this honour in the past include Yashwant Sinha, Narayana Murthy, Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Nandita Das, Shah Rukh Khan, veteran musician Balamuralikrishna and the late actor Sivaji Ganesan, are among others.

Chairman and managing director of Biocon Limited, a biotechnology company based in Bangalore (Bengaluru), India and the current chairperson of IIM-Bangalore, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is in fact, one of the top 100 most powerful woman in the world. In 2014, she was also awarded the Othmer Gold Medal for her outstanding contribution to the progress of science and chemistry. She has been described as the wealthiest self-made woman in India by Forbes magazine as well.