Indian Society for Quality has conferred upon Mr. B Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel, the prestigious Jamsetji Tata award for the year 2008. The award was given by Mr Ajay Shankar, Secretary DIPP, Ministry of Commerce and Industry at an Annual Conference organized by Indian Society for Quality today at the Epicentre in Gurgaon, NCR.

This is an award for Mr. B Muthuraman that recognises his contribution in successfully managing business through quality processes and also developing the culture of the society that it operates in. This award is to acknowledge his efforts in excellence towards constant improvement in quality.

While accepting the award at the function, Mr. B Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel, dedicated the award to the employees and workers of the Company. Speaking on the occasion, he said “I am very honoured and proud to receive this award by the Indian Society for Quality. Tata Steel as company has always aimed at improving quality on a continuous basis. Total Quality Management (TQM) as a process in every organization should be standardized, continuously improved upon and innovated constantly. Even when subjects like TQM were not prevalent, it was adopted by Tata Steel as quality was a part of J N Tata’s vision”.

Apart from Mr. B Muthuraman, the other eminent personalities who have received this prestigious award in the past include Mr. Venu Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Motors, Dr. J J Irani, Director, Tata Sons, Arun Barat Ram, CMD of SRF Ltd. and Dr. Surinder Kapur, Chairman and Managing Director, Sona Kayo.

Under his leadership, Tata Steel has been the proud winner of the Deming Application Prize, which makes it the only Steel Company outside Japan to win this coveted award for excellence in Total Quality Management. The Company was chosen for the award for not just what it has done for its customers, employees and business partners but also for its exceptional work in social welfare and upliftment of communities in and around its operational areas.

The other awards that Tata Steel has received during Mr. Muthuraman’s tenure include the Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise (MAKE) Asia Award and TERI Corporate Award for Tata Steel’s HIV Aids initiatives. Tata Steel has also won the Best Merger and Acquisition Award in 2007 – 08 for the Corus deal that was spearheaded by our Managing Director.

Mr. B Muthuraman, the winner of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, IIT, Chennai (1997), has also won the Tata Gold Medal, Indian Institute of Metals in 2002. He was also given the CEO of the Year Award by IIMM in 2002. Bombay Management Association in June 2007 conferred upon him ‘Management Man of the Year 2006-2007 Award’.