Tulsi Tanti to receive prestigious Canadian Award

TIME magazine-honoured engineer establishes India as a leader in green energy.

The Canada-India Foundation will honour Tulsi Tanti, a global pioneer in renewable energy resources, as the 2009 recipient of the CIF Chanchlani Global Indian award, for his innovative contributions to the environment. 

Widely known as the “the wind man of India”, the founder of Suzlon Energy Limited has propelled the company to become the world’s fifth largest wind turbine maker with over 10% of the global market share.

“The award recognizes Mr. Tanti’s pioneering contribution towards the re-emergence of India on the international stage.  India’s rich cultural heritage along with its leadership position in science and technology enables it to offer innovative solutions to the global challenge of carbon emissions and energy shortages” said Vasudev Chanchlani, principal sponsor of the award.

The Hon. Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India will be among the guests attending the Awards Gala on April 18, 2009. 

The gala will coincide with the first Canada India Energy Forum, from April 15th-17th, to identify opportunities for collaboration in the energy sector between the two countries.  The forum comes on the heels of the proposed Ontario Green Energy and Green Economy Act announced in the recent Ontario budget.

“Mr. Tanti’s success story has demonstrated that India’s story goes beyond that of its success in Information Technology and Bio-Technology. India has built a wealth of knowledge in a wide variety of fields, currently being tapped into to help resolve the global crises,” said Mr. Ajit Someshwar, National Convenor, Canada India Foundation.

The Chanchlani Global Indian Award is the latest in a series of international awards recognizing Mr. Tanti’s important achievements in the wind energy industry.  A mechanical engineer by profession, he has also received the “Hero of the Environment Award” by TIME Magazine, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006, Terialumni Award for outstanding Entrepreneurship in Energy – Environment Technologies 2006 by The Terialumni Trust and India Business Leader Award 2006 by CNBC.

The award holds added significance as Canada is one of the major countries in which REpower Systems AG of Germany, one of Suzlon Group companies, operates. Suzlon controls 91% of the voting rights in REpower Systems AG, which is developing a 954 MW wind-farm in Quebec.

The Awards Gala will be held on April 18th, 2009 at the Sheraton Centre Hotel, Toronto, between 6.00 p.m. and 11.00 p.m..

About CIF
Canada India Foundation ("CIF") is a national not for profit organization established in 2007 and is dedicated to promoting bi-lateral relations between Canada and India, while working to secure and promote the interests of Canada's dynamic Indo-Canadian community within the Canadian mosaic.