Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal on Wednesday became the first Indian citizen to be conferred an honorary Knighthood by Britain’s King Charles III “for services to UK and India business relations”.
“I am deeply humbled by this gracious recognition from His Majesty, King Charles. UK and India have historical relations, which are now entering a new era of increased cooperation and collaboration,” the 66-year-old entrepreneur said in a statement.
The KBE, conferred for a pre-eminent contribution in any field of activity, is awarded in an honorary capacity to foreign nationals. While the Knighthood conferred on UK nationals gives them the title of Sir or Dame, non-UK nationals awarded the honour add KBE (or DBE for women) after their name.
Previous Indian recipients of the Honorary KBE include Ratan Tata (2009), Ravi Shankar (2001) and Jamshed Irani (1997), conferred by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Mittal successfully led the revival of OneWeb (now Eutelsat), leading a consortium with the UK Government and other strategic investors to offer satellite broadband services globally.
A member of the India-UK CEO Forum, Mittal has been awarded the Honorary Doctor of Civil Law from the Newcastle University and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Leeds.
