By IANS,
Mumbai : Renowned economist and Planning Commission member Narendra Jadhav has been honoured with the “Commander dans l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques” (Commander of the Order of Academic Palms) award — one of the oldest French civil distinctions, a statement said Friday.
The honour will be formally conferred on Jadhav July 14, the French National Day.
A former vice chancellor of Pune University, Jadhav is also a member of the National Advisory Council, an academician and a writer.
He is the first Indian to be accorded the honour originally founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1808 to honour members of the University of France.
In 1955, it was established as an order and awarded to eminent acdemicians, authors, artists, scientists and professionals for their contribution in various fields like social movement, culture and education.
The Ordre des Palmes Academiques comprises three grades and commander is the highest among them, the statement said.
The honour recognises Jadhav’s fight against prevalent discriminations and inequalities in India.
In the past few years, he has been actively involved in democratic struggles against caste-based discriminations and socio-economic inequalities in India.