The Indian government on Monday declared the awardees for Padma Awards openly, and Zoho Founder Sridhar Vembu has been vested India’s fourth-highest civilian honor Padma Shri, ahead of Republic Day. Conferred in the category of trade and industry, Sridhar Vembu has got the stature of establishing a unicorn without the assistance of external funding. The Chennai-based startup was founded in 1996.
On the Padma Shree award, it is a huge honor and I feel humbled. I dedicate this to our employees, my extended family, for keeping the faith.
I want to thank friends and well-wishers for all your messages that have poured in. Your support keeps me going. 🙏🙏🙏
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) January 26, 2021
“There are 1,000 heroes, and you will probably get to know them only when they start their own companies,” Sridhar said.
Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has been conferred with Padma Shri #Padmashri @svembu @zoho
— Chandra R. Srikanth (@chandrarsrikant) January 25, 2021
Sridhar could be called “the trailblazer for the growth of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) startups out of India.” As a forerunner in this industry, Zoho served as a torchbearer for the SaaS industry, which now has other unicorns such as Freshworks, Dhruva, Icertis Zenoti. Padma Awards are conferred in three categories, namely — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri — and are given in various disciplines/fields of activities, including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.
Sridhar Vembu (@svembu), founder and CEO of @zoho has been awarded the Padma Shri.#PadmaAwards#zoho#Padmashri
(Pic: @svembu Twitter) pic.twitter.com/v5bTPXQqyU
— Young Turks (@CNBCYoungTurks) January 25, 2021
Padma Vibhushan is conferred for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma Bhushan, for outstanding duty of a high order; and Padma Shri, for distinguished service in any field. The awards are proclaimed on the eve of Republic Day every year. Other prominent awardees from the world of business who have been bestowed upon with the Padma Awards this year include Rajni Bector, Jaswantiben Jamnadas Popat, and Rajnikant Devidas Shroff.
Zoho Writer got a nice update! Our tireless engineers at work.🙏 https://t.co/c969drq6uR
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) January 21, 2021
Rajni Bector is the Founder of Mrs. Bector Foods — the maker of various food products — which went public lately. Jaswantiben Jamnadas Popat is part of the founding group of the eponymous Lijjat Papad brand, while Rajnikant Devidas Shroff is the Chairman and Managing Director of UPL.
