Ani Agnihotri, managing partner of the Atlanta-based U.S. Indian Business and Research Center, received a special commendation from the government of the state of Karnataka, India, Feb. 5 for his efforts in promoting closer ties between U.S. and Indian companies, universities and government agencies.
H.P. Kumar, chairman and managing director of the National Small Industries Corp., a government agency, presented the award during the evening ceremony held at the conclusion of the Bangalore India Bio 2013 conference.
Earlier during the conference, Mark Lytle, director of the Georgia Centers of Innovation, signed a memorandum of understanding with Karnataka, which includes the city of Bangalore, committing both sides to collaborating on information technology and life sciences initiatives.
Besides Mr. Agnihotri and Mr. Lytle, the Georgia delegation included representatives from the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Amanda Shailendra, senior project manager at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, told Global Atlanta that Mr. Agnihotri had been critical in arranging the meetings between the Georgia companies and universities and their Indian counterparts.
She also said that Georgia was the only U.S. state officially represented at the conference, and that the presence of a recently established Indian consulate general in Atlanta helped the credibility of the delegates in their one-on-one meetings.
Karnataka state is India’s eighth largest state and is located in the country’s southwest. It’s capital Bangalore, is at the forefront of the country’s rapid economic and technological development.
For more information about the trade mission, click here.