Subhash Chandra conferred with an Honorary Doctorate degree
Subhash Chandra, Chairman of Zee TV and Essel Group, was on Tuesday conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration by the University of East London in recognition of his innate ability to identify new businesses and lead them to success.
Lord Gulam Noon, Chancellor of the university, himself a leading NRI entrepreneur conferred the Honorary Doctorate on 62-year-old Chandra at the university.
The citation, read out by Lord Kamalesh Patel who is a Senior Advisor to the Vice Chancellor at the university, described Chandra as "a self-made billionaire".
"Chandra has an innate ability to identify new businesses and lead them to success. He is also a philanthropist who invests heavily in the health and wellbeing of his country," it said.
The citation noted "at the age of 17, Chandra steered his grandfather's business back to stability and from Essel it became Essel Group of industries.
In his acceptance speech, Chandra said: "I have been fortunate enough to have been felicitated at various such esteemed gatherings across the globe. But this recognition will always remain special to me since I'm being honoured amidst 570 young and bright graduates of the University." Noting that education is the most precious gift, he told the new graduates that "when I look at you all, armed with such rich education, in a hi-tech era, where knowledge and information is at the tip of your fingers, I cannot even imagine what boundaries you all can leap. I wish each one of your great success ahead, and my blessings are with you all."
Stating that it is a matter of immense pride for one to mention that Zee reaches more than 700 million viewers in more than 169 countries, Chandra said "We have set a goal of reaching a billion viewers by the year 2020, and also to be ranked amongst the top global media conglomerates." He dedicated "this recognition to all the members of the Zee family across the world."
Prominent among those present on the occasion were Vice Chancellor Professor John Joughin, Amin Ali, Founder chairman of the Red Fort hotel and Milind Kangle, CEO of Lycamobile.