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Mallika Srinivasan awarded Honorary Doctorate by TNAU

TAFE Chairman & CEO, Ms. Mallika Srinivasan was awarded the Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) today at Coimbatore. This was conferred in recognition of her contribution to global agriculture, machinery business and academia. She is the first lady from the Indian Tractor Industry to be conferred this honour at the 38th convocation ceremony of TNAU.

Ms. Mallika Srinivasan was awarded the Honoris Causa by the Chancellor of TNAU and Hon. Governor of Tamil Nadu, Mr. Vidyasagar Rao. The ceremony was graced by the presence of Mr. K. Ramasamy – Vice Chancellor of the University, Mr. R. Doraikkannu – Pro Chancellor of TNAU and the Agriculture Minister of Tamil Nadu, and the chief guest of the ceremony, Dr. C. D. Mayee – President, South Asia Biotechnology Centre along with the Professors and the new graduates of TNAU.

In her acceptance speech, Ms. Mallika Srinivasan, said, “I am immensely privileged to have been chosen to receive the degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from this prestigious world renowned institute that has been serving the farming community for over a century. I extend my gratitude and thanks to the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) for bestowing this unique honour on me. This honour will, no doubt, be a great inspiration to me and my team at TAFE, as we continue to serve the farming community both in India and in other developing markets of the world.”

Personifying TAFE’s philosophy of ‘Cultivating the World’, Ms. Mallika Srinivasan has played a key role in the development of agriculture across the nation through initiatives that positively impact the lives of farmers. Taking forward the founder’s vision of empowering the Indian farmer, she has led the development of JFarm, TAFE’s adaptive agricultural research and training centre, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, established in 1964 by her father and TAFE’s first Chairman, Mr. A. Sivasailam. Under her leadership, JFarm has focused on developing an integrated farming model for small and marginal farmers, farm initiatives for soil, water and nutrient management to increase productivity through mechanisation. JFarm also advocates organic farming and its activities in developing a low cost modified hydroponics system have been widely appreciated.

Reacting to the news of her doctorate, Mr. Ravichandran a progressive farmer said, “I’m very pleased with this news. From the farmers point of view we don’t merely consider TAFE as yet another agricultural company. We consider it as the true friend of farmers. TAFE’s JFarm, has motivated many people to take up farming as their career including me. I’m sure under the able stewardship of Ms. Mallika Srinivasan and the dynamic management team and dedicated staff, we the farmers would continue to benefit from the century old group and farming gets transformed to an enviable profession. I truly believe ”TAFE is the pride of Indian Farmers” My very best wishes to the TAFE – CEO. She richly deserves such honor.”

Ms. Mallika Srinivasan has transformed agriculture in the Northern parts of India through the setting up of JFarm Rajasthan at Bhawanimandi, Dt. Jhalawer, which replicates the pioneering efforts of JFarm, TamilNadu, helping farmers of Rajasthan and subsequently those from nearby states.

Leading the way in global agriculture Mallika Srinivasan has also encouraged the extension of JFarm’s activities to other developing economies and TAFE is in the process of setting up such facilities aimed at improving farm productivity and sustainable farming, leveraging relevant mechanisation in association with several countries in Africa. It has established partnerships for skill training and development and piloting small farm sustainability programs in Malawi, Tanzania and Rwanda, Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast and is involved in developing multipurpose farmer centers across the African continent.

Ms. Mallika Srinivasan, justifies the epithet ‘Tractor Queen of India’ transforming TAFE to become the world’s third largest tractor manufacturer and India’s largest exporter of farm equipment. A thought leader and a strategist, widely recognised for her business acumen, she has developed relevant technology to suit evolving needs of the farmers, optimised costs, and tapped global markets to establish TAFE as a quality mass manufacturer of tractors and a lean, resilient organisation that can weather the cyclicality of the business.

An excerpt from the citation read, “TAFE’s JFarm, located at Chennai and Rajasthan, established as a CSR initiative, engages in adaptive research and provides farm extension services, covering a variety of crops, as an advisory service to farmers to enhance yields and promotes among farmers, knowledge of cultivation practices and the latest technological advancements. It is this effort of many decades that has won her acclaim.

The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University takes great pride in placing on record the exceptional achievements of Padma Shri Mallika Srinivasan and takes privilege in honouring her, in recognition of her contribution to global agriculture, machinery business and academia.”

She is one among the Board of Directors of AGCO Corporation, a global farm equipment major in the United States of America, Tata Steel Limited and Tata Global Beverages Limited. She is the first lady to have assumed the role of President of the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A member of the Executive Board of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, Ms. Srinivasan has held prestigious board positions at IIT Madras and the Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Trichy.

GETs embark on their journey at TAFE
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Starting their journey of ‘Cultivating the world’

Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE) is an international tractor manufacturer with a legacy of over 50 years. It played an instrumental role in ushering farm mechanization in India and is now powering farms in over 100 countries. India’s second largest and the world’s third largest tractor manufacturer (by volumes) – TAFE achieved this by staying true to the values and ethics laid down by its founding fathers and the dedication and hard work of the people at TAFE. Generations of employees have helped build TAFE to its present stature under a very able leadership.

One of TAFE’s core values is ‘People’ – the prosperity of its stakeholders, both internal and external. TAFE is a learning organization which has always striven to enrich and encourage knowledge seekers within its ranks or outside. It has established strong relationships with several well reputed educational institutions to promote the growth of its people and also attract the best talent – some of whom have spent their entire professional careers at TAFE.

At the core of everything TAFE does is its philosophy of ‘Cultivating the world’ and its steadfast commitment to help the farmers worldwide prosper. This can only be achieved when everyone associated with TAFE is instilled in ‘the TAFE way’ and imbibes its values, ethics and the hunger for innovation.

Recently, TAFE on boarded 25 Graduate Engineer Trainees (GET) from some of the best institutions in the country. In many cases TAFE has established a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with some of these institutes. The induction of these GETs includes a comprehensive technical training, SWAGAT (organizational orientation), plant orientation and an out bound programme. They have already completed their 45 days of training at TAFE’s renowned Product Training Centre (PTC) in Chennai. Currently, the GETs are undergoing their second phase of technical training at Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF) at Bangalore on Manufacturing Engineering. The GETs have been recruited from renowned institutes like, GCT (Coimbatore), PSG (Coimbatore), IRTT (Erode), SVCE (Chennai), TCE (Madurai), Veltech (Chennai) and more!

TAFE congratulates these GETs on embarking on their journey of ‘Cultivating the world’ with TAFE and wishes them a fruitful career ahead!