Late Ratan Tata and Shobhana Bhartia get business leader awards

MUMBAI: Union minister Nitin Gadkari presented TIOL awards, honoring Ratan Tata posthumously and Shobhana Bhartia, highlighting their significant contributions.

MUMBAI: At an evening honouring business leaders who are “a guiding light for young generations”, union minister Nitin Gadkari presented the TIOL Corporate India awards on Saturday. The TIOL Business Legend Award 2025 was posthumously awarded to Ratan Tata while the TIOL Exemplary Business Woman Award was given to chairperson and editorial director of HT Media Limited Shobhana Bhartia.

Mumbai, India. Mar 01, 2025: Shobhana Bhartia, Chairman & Editorial Director, Hindustan Times received the TIOL Exemplary Business Woman Award 2025 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Mumbai on Saturday. Mumbai, India. Mar 01, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

This is the first year that TIOL, which stands for Tax India Online, was hosting its annual awards in Mumbai. Earlier on Saturday, there were multiple sessions on income-tax, GST and ease of doing business.

Speakers said despite GST completing eight years, it was quickly outgrowing second-generation reforms – a major source of contention being the litigation it has sparked, with over 62,000 cases. With the tribunal to resolve disputes yet to become operational, the industry has been forced to approach the courts which is long and tedious.

The award to Ratan Tata was collected by chairman of Tata Sons N Chandrasekaran. “I knew Tata from 1995 when I was a minister in the Maharashtra government,” said Gadkari after presenting Ratan Tata’s award to N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons. “Above all, he was a good human being with a great sense of social responsibility. One example of this is the Tata Memorial Hospital for cancer patients.”

Bhartia was lauded as a trailblazer in Indian journalism, being the first woman to head a national newspaper. She became the CEO of Hindustan Times in 1986 at the age of 29. “She was born in a family of industrial giants, among news writers and news makers,” said Shailendra Kumar, CEO of TIOL. “Alongside, her contribution to education, and politics, as a former member of the Rajya Sabha, she is one of the most powerful women in India in our time.” Gadkari called Bharatia one of the key upholders of the fourth estate in the country. Tamil Nadu minister for IT and digital services, Dr P Thiagarajan, said, “India was enjoying a moment on the global economic stage. However, we are bottlenecked by our inability to execute. There is a gap between intent and outcome across all segments of business and government; how we navigate the gap will define the future.”