Ambassador of Japan to India, Kenji Hiramatsu, hosted a ceremony at his official residence in New Delhi on January 16 to felicitate Onkar S. Kanwar, Chairperson of the India-Japan Business Cooperation Committee and Chairperson of Apollo Tyres, on receiving the Decoration of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star.
The reception witnessed the presence of the former Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, among other prominent personalities representing the Indian public and private sectors. Singh congratulated Kanwar for the top Japanese honour conferred upon him.
Those represented the corporate world included KK Modi the former FICCI president, Raghu Mody he former ASSOCHAM president and Chairman of the Morison Group, Dr. Devlina Chakravarty, the MD of Artemis Global Life Sciences Limited and many senior management professionals from Apollo Group.
In November 2018, Kanwar was decorated at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, in recognition of his outstanding contribution towards strengthening Japan-India economic relations and facilitating Japanese companies’ entry to the Indian market.
The ambassador Hiramatsu recalled the contribution of Kanwar as the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in 2004-05 and the Chairperson of India-Japan Business Cooperation Committee for representing the voices of the Indian businesses and enriching the discussion toward the promotion of trade and investment between the two countries.
“Mr. Kanwar’s participation in the Joint Study Group on bilateral economic relations, was instrumental to the Japan-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2011 and the Social Security Agreement between Japan and India in 2012,” the ambassador said.
The ambassador said that Kanwar’s meeting with the then Prime Minister of Japan in April 2005 in the capacity of FICCI president had led to the establishment of Joint Study Group of Bilateral Economic Relations in June-July 2005. The ambassador said Kanwar’s active participation in the Joint Study Group spearheaded discussions and measures to bring Japanese investment in India.
Ambassador Hiramatsu also touched on Kanwar’s longstanding contribution to the promotion of the Japanese companies’ entry to the Indian market since the 1970s as a quality parts supplier and the introduction of Japanese corporate management style in India, encompassing kaizen philosophy, client satisfaction, employee welfare, social responsibility, and so forth.
Kanwar, in his acceptance speech, modestly recalled his long journey to undertake the bilateral economic relations promotion under the guidance of Indian leaders as well as his colleagues in the Japanese corporate world, and expressed his renewed commitment to further exploring the dynamic economic collaborations with Japan.
