ICICI Bank CEO and Managing Director Chanda Kochhar has become the first Indian woman to receive the Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship, earlier awarded to the likes of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy.The Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship was given by the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington on Wednesday. "The award was conferred on Kochhar for demonstrating a commitment to the common good -- beyond the bottom line. It signifies the tremendous work done by ICICI Group under Kochhar's able leadership in improving the lives of people in the local communities and the world at large," ICICI Bank said in a statement here on Thursday.On the occasion, Kochhar said: "I would like to accept this honour on behalf of India, its women and the ICICI Group. The Group has been serving India for six decades since independence. Over the years, we have gone beyond our businesses to take up philanthropic projects in diverse areas from education to healthcare to skilling. Today, we have provided skill training, free of cost, in technical trades, sales and office skills, to over 136,000 people, who are gainfully employed."
"As I see the list of past recipients of this honour, I feel inspired to be counted as one among them. It is a distinguished and varied list, reflecting not only the wide range of achievements of these individuals, but also the Woodrow Wilson Centre's commitment to recognise and honour excellence across every area of human endeavour," she added.Thomas Nides, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Wilson Center, said: "The Woodrow Wilson Awards are a special opportunity to recognise individuals who are thoughtful leaders, engaged citizens and vocal advocates in their communities. Chanda Kochhar is known for her leading roles in strengthening ICICI Bank's retail franchise, improving technological innovation in India, and helping expand opportunities for women."
Previous recipients of the Woodrow Wilson Awards include former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy, US Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson as well as four former US Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, General Colin Powell, Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice.Recently, ICICI Group has completed the transformation of 100 villages into 'ICICI Digital Villages' across 17 states in India in 100 days. During this transformation, it has provided vocational training to over 11,300 villagers, including over 7,500 women, in 100 days. It has also provided credit and market linkages to the villagers enabling many of them to set up entrepreneurial ventures. ICICI Bank will expand the number of such digital villages by another 500 by December 2017.