In what would be etched in history, as perhaps one of the biggest recognitions to India’s growing entrepreneurship ecosyste, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, the founder of tech conglomerate Info Edge has been named one of the recipients of the Padma Shri award, which is India’s fourth highest civilian honour. The award honors the contributions of individuals from myriad fields.
According to a home ministry statement, Bikhchandani has been given Padma Shri in the category of trade and industry.
Soon after his name was announced, Sanjeev Bikhchandani tweeted that he was “honoured and privileged” to have been given the award. He also added that he felt proud to represent the “start up entrepreneur community in this list”.
Info Edge, more popularly known by the multitude of Internet brands it runs, was among the first internet-based businesses in India. Onwer of popular online brands like Naukri.com, 99acres.com, jeevansaathi.com among others, Bikhchandani founded the company in 1997 with a seed capital of ₹2,000. Fast track to now, and the company employs more than 4,000 people and has a market capitalisation of over $4.5 billion. The company also runs several other online platforms, including Jeevansathi.com, 99acres.com, and Shiksha.com.
It was the first Internet company to list on Indian stock exchanges. In addition to this, Sanjeev Bikhchandani has also made strategic investments in promising web start-ups such as Zomato, Policybazaar, Shopkirana and Ustraa. He is also the founding trustee of Ashoka University.
The Padma Shri for this year has been awarded to a total of 118 eminent personalities across fields of art, literature and education, medicine, trade and industry, sports, public affairs, social work and science and engineering.
