Professor Amitabh Mattoo Advisor to Chief Minister, one of India's leading thinkers and writers on international relations has been awarded the prestigious Capital Foundation National Award for his invaluable contribution to Education and Academic Reform.The Capital Foundation is a non-governmental voluntary organization that brings together men of thought and learning to articulate public opinion on policy issues. Their members include Mr. Ram Nath Kovind, President of India, Dr Parnab Mukherjee, ex-president of India, Union Ministers, senior Civil Servants, Vice Chancellors, Chiefs of the Indian Armed Forces, Senior Academics, Judges, Social Activists & eminent professionals from all walks of life.Currently, Advisor to the Chief Minister, with the status of a Cabinet Minister Prof Mattoo chairs the Knowledge Initiative, with the Education Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, appointed by the government to recommend interventions in schools, colleges and institutions of higher learning to make the education system socially relevant and global competitive.
He is also Honorary Director of the Australia India Institute @Delhi and serves, in an honorary capacity, as Chairman of the Governing Board of Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi. Prof Mattoo has been the chief executive officer & inaugural Director of the Australia India Institute and Professor of International Relations at the University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is the co-chair of the Australia India Leadership Dialogue and co-Chairs the Chaophrya Dialogue, the most influential Track II process between India and Pakistan.Prof Mattoo is widely regarded as an inspiring and innovative builder of institutions and the foremost Indian intellectual seeking to build peace in the South Asian region. He received his Doctorate from the University of Oxford and has been a visiting Professor at Stanford University, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Illinois, and the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme in Paris. He has published extensively including eight books and more than a hundred articles. Professor Mattoo was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian awards, for his contribution to education and public life in 2008.