Mangaluru : Dharmadhikari of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Dr D Veerendra Heggade who was conferred Padma Vibhushan on Wednesday, received a grand welcome at Mangalore International Airport on Thursday, April 9.
Dr Heggade had been honoured with the prestigious award in recognition to his contributions made in the field of rural development, creating self employment opportunities and bringing about social revolution.
Speaking to reporters at the airport, Heggade thanked the President and the Government of India for conferring him the second highest civilian award
“As the saying goes ‘janata janardhana’, I have served Lord Manjunathaswamy through people and I seek his blessings to do good for the society. It is through my ancestors and their work that I am able to serve people. I thank my family and people who have always lent their support to me in all phases of my life,” he added.
Meanwhile, TV Mohandas Pai confered with prestigious Padma Shri Award
Chairperson of Manipal Global Education Services T V Mohandas Pai was conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award by President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday, April 8.
T V Mohandas Pai was one among the 38 Padma Shri awardees which included music maestro Ravindra Jain, renowned Hindi poet Sunil Jogi, Vice-Chancellor of Gujarat Ayurved University Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, eminent writer and freedom fighter Lambert Mascarenhas, vocalist Tripti Mukherjee, Founder of Shillong Chamber Choir Neil Herbert Nongkynrih and environmental activist Jadav Payeng, who single-handedly turned a sandbar of Brahmaputra into a reserve forest.
Mohandas Pai, former CFO and HR Head of Infosys, was a key part of the core executive team that piloted the company during its growth phase during the late 90s, and early part of the last decade. In 2006, he voluntarily demitted the office of CFO to lead efforts in the areas of Human Resources and Education and Research. His key contribution to society is the mid-day meal programme for schoolchildren run by the Bangalore-based not-for-profit organisation Akshaya Patra Foundation, started in 2000.
