New Delhi, 8 June 2017
On behalf of the President of the French Republic, the Ambassador of France to India, H.E. Mr Alexandre Ziegler, today conferred the French Honour Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (Knight of the National Order of Merits), on Mr Bharat Salhotra, Managing Director of Alstom India and South Asia.
The honour comes in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of business and his commitment towards the expansion of a flagship French company in India.
Commending Mr Salhotra at the investiture ceremony held at the Residence of France, Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler said, “Alstom epitomizes the thriving of French business in India and you are a primary player in this success story. Under your leadership, Alstom has not just augmented its footprint in India but is well positioned to serve the Indian as well as the global market. It is an honour to confer on you the “Ordre du Mérite” in recognition of your outstanding achievements and your contribution to the Indo-French partnership.”
Accepting the award, Mr. Bharat Salhotra said, “I thank the selection committee and the French Government for bestowing the ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite’ on me. I am deeply humbled and shall cherish this award for rest of my life. I do believe that a lot can be achieved from the partnership between India and France and this recognition strengthens my commitment towards this alliance. I am indebted to all my colleagues and friends who have been my constant aides on my journey.”
Mr Bharat Salhotra is currently working as Managing Director for Alstom in India and South Asia. During the last three years, since he joined, Alstom has substantially expanded its footprint in India and today has several projects under execution. Since his taking over, the company has augmented its footprint in India by adding over 2000 engineers to its innovation hubs at Bangalore. Today, Alstom in India is well positioned for serving not only the Indian market but also the rapidly expanding markets in South Asia Pacific region and beyond.
Alstom has been awarded a prestigious contract by Indian Railways worth over 3 billion euros for manufacture and supply of 800 electric locomotives under the “MAKE IN INDIA” initiative of Government of India.
Bharat Salhotra has been pushing for promoting Alstom light rail turnkey solution for Tier II cities in India and sensitizing the Indian customers on the need to adopt solution based on life cycle costs rather than on capital costs only. As a result, a number of cities such as Trivandrum, Kozhikode, Nagpur and Delhi suburbia are actively looking at inducting the Alstom’s Axonis Light Rail Transport solution.
Bharat Salhotra is a Sloan Fellow with an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. While at MIT, he led a team of Sloan Fellows for re-strategizing United Parcel Service’s business. He has a number of publications to his credit, including one co-authored with Deputy Dean of MIT Sloan School. He has also authored a landmark case study on India’s first PPP initiative in the Port Sector which resulted in major policy changes at national level. Bharat Salhotra has been appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite (Knight of the National Order of Merits) by the President of the French Republic in May 2015.
The French government distinction Ordre National du Mérite (National Order of Merits) was instituted in 1963 by General Charles de Gaulle. It is awarded for distinguished services rendered in public, civil, military posts, or a private profession.