This award has a long and ancient symbolic history. The badge has the symbol Marianne, a national emblem of France, a personification of Liberty and Reason. She symbolizes the "Triumph of the Republic.” Why is it a woman and not a man who represents the Republic? As historian Maurice Agulhon, points out that a feminine allegory was to symbolise the breaking with the monarchical regime headed by men. For the women of India, Marianne will remain a symbol of hope in the struggle for health, education, justice and equality. 

The Age of Chivalry was also the age of the horse. The word chivalry is first recorded in works composed around the beginning of the 14th century. In war, the chivalrous knight was idealized as brave in battle, loyal and willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Towards his fellow countrymen, the knight was to be merciful, humble, and courteous. The knight was a defender, champion, zealous upholder of a principle. For those of us in the field of medicine and science, this thought strikes a chord, and is an inspiration.

One day, some 30 years ago, when I was a young medical student I saw a little girl, who was paralyzed by polio, below the neck and could not walk, or run joyously like her little companions. How small was her body, how immense was her pain and suffering. Polio was endemic in the mill area of Parel, where our family textile mills were situated, and I resolved that no child would walk like that-in a giant wheel of sorrow, in the anguish of existence. 

Barely out of medical school, I started the Gopikrishna Piramal Memorial Hospital, in memory of my father-in-law, who let me follow my dream. I would like to thank my mother in law, Shrimati Lalitaji, who is watching this on a webcast because she could not travel here easily. They say that girls succeed because they have a father who believes in them. I have to thank my father for his belief in me, and for teaching me the love for reading, science and mathematics, and my mother for her total support. Last but not the least my husband Ajay, with unstinted encouragement, and who in reality is a feminist, like the symbol of Marianne, who believes that the potential of women is immense. Without him holding my hand I could not have been here today. Tagore said “Like a rain cloud of July hung low with its burden of unshed showers let all my mind bend down at thy door in one salutation to thee.” For this honour today I offer my humble thanks to the Lord above.

One hears of an old Chinese saying, “plant a green bough within your heart and the singing bird will come.” Today, we have dismantled the polio rehabilitation center because we are winning the war against polio. After that first adventure, our interest turned to cancer, arthritis, malaria, epilepsy and the huge burden of diseases afflicting the world. We have planted many “green boughs.”

Last month, I was speaking at the US National Academy of Sciences started by Abraham Lincoln, in Washington. A speaker before me went on on about the problems of India, disease and poverty, corruption and inefficiency, high maternal and infant mortality and so on. For a few minutes I cringed in my seat. When it was my turn to speak I said “How wonderful - each day when we get up in the morning we have so much to do – see if we can make a difference. The Talmud tells us that “by saving a single being we can save the world” and that is our mission.

We have to wake up to make a difference. Here, at the Nicholas Piramal Research Center we are waging a mighty battle - a war against disease and each one of the scientists and colleagues here and in our facilities in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Baddi, Pithampur, Mahad, indeed across the nation and Huddersfield, Grangemouth, Billingham, and Morpeth in the UK and Torcan in Canada are working hard in our mission to reduce the burden of disease. Our products like Phensedyl, Sorbitrate, Glimer, Supradyn, Stemetil, Gardenal, Bactrim and many others help to alleviate disease.

Your excellency, this honour is actually for each one of them. I am proud to accept it on behalf of my whole team.

Some 25 years ago I visited France for the first time. My husband and I were trying to buy high-speed steel for our engineering company Miranda. I was awestruck by the technology and science in companies in France.

Today, Nicholas Piramal has a strategic alliance with Pierre Fabre, France’s second largest pharmaceutical company. Nicholas Piramal manufactures, markets and distributes Pierre Fabre products in India. These include dermatology and oncology products. The partnership is planning new launches in the derma-cosmetic arena – a new category of products in the Indian market. The two partners are exploring research collaboration in the area of natural products. We have met with Mr. Pierre Fabre in his beautiful chateau in Toulouse. He is a giant in the arena of research in natural products and we are delighted to work together with this great company.

Nicholas has partnerhips with a number of French companies Sanofi-Aventis, ( in the field of diabetes,) Mundipharma and Ethypharm. Ipsen another large French pharmaceutical company markets Nicholas-Piramal products in Malaysia. Nicholas products are being distributed to 500 French customers (hospitals, clinics, pharmacies) by CSP. Our Contract manufacturing Group (CMG) is working with Sanofi and Solvay. Our Vitamins Group supplies products to Coletica, JJ France, Virbac, Grimwerg and Cilag.

Gujarat Glass, a group company has offices in Paris on Rue Marbeuf. Near our office there is a little bakery where everyone morning a very special sweet called “financiers” is made. I tried to learn the recipe and with this “transfer of technology” have made some special “financiers” today. We supply glass bottles to L’Oreal, Cofenluxe and Compagnie Diffusion Internationale. Our products are supplied to France and French controlled markets in faraway lands like Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo. 

Nicholas Piramal has important links with French banks BNP Paribas and Calyon where we avail of External Commercial Borrowings and Credit facilities. I was honoured to be on board of a French joint venture of BNP Paribas and State Bank of India (SBI Life) for 3 years. 

I must mention another passionate interest that is in Cooking. I studied patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu and my French teacher Thierry would say there are only three things important in food “The Taste, the taste, the taste.” My interest in cooking morphed into an interest in nutrition and three books in the subject included the first book with Indian food written for patients with life threatening kidney disease and is used by patients worldwide. I would like to acknowledge the presence of some of teachers from the KEM hospital, my alma mater who have graced the occasion this morning. They have faced the brunt of coping with the serial train blasts in Mumbai. Also present are some of my classmates and members of my family. 

Yesterday, President Kalam was in Mumbai. He reminded us that 200 million of our countrymen are below the poverty line, but he also mentioned that science and technology in the life sciences if harnessed, could change the face of the nation. In a sense, science is the story of Truth. The wandering Sufi poet Kabir said “The flute of the Infinite is played without ceasing and its sound is love. When love renounces all limits, it reaches truth. How widely the fragrance spreads! It has no end, nothing stands in our way.”

Your Excellency, this award will make us fight harder to lift our nation using science, truth and knowledge, to continue to partner in the war against disease globally, to discover, manufacture and market medicines that will reduce the disease burden. It will encourage us to keep the symbol of Marianne,- Liberty and Reason and the ideals of the “chevalier” - to zealously defend our values and principles. On behalf of all of us in the Piramal Group we thank you for conferring this Award.