Suzuki Motor agreed to set up a venture with the Indian government outside New Delhi and acquired a 26 per cent stake in the state-owned carmaker Maruti Udyog in 1982. In December 1983, the venture rolled out the Maruti 800 small car which was an instant hit…reports Asian Lite News
Osamu Suzuki, Suzuki Motor Corp’s patriarch and long-time chairman who has been conferred Padma Vibhushan posthumously, headed the company for more than 40 years and revolutionised India’s car market with the introduction of the popular Maruti 800 small car.
Osamu Suzuki is among seven personalities who were conferred Padma Vibhushans, one of the highest civilian honours in the country, on Saturday. Osamu Suzuki, who died in late December last year at the age of 94, shared a good rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to PM Modi, Osamu Suzuki was a legendary figure in the global automotive industry.
“His visionary work reshaped global perceptions of mobility. Under his leadership, Suzuki Motor Corporation became a global powerhouse, successfully navigating challenges, driving innovation and expansion. He had a profound affection for India and his collaboration with Maruti revolutionised the Indian automobile market,” the Prime Minister had posted on X social media platform.
A former bank employee, Osamu Suzuki got his break in the automotive business after his marriage to Shoko Suzuki, granddaughter of Michio Suzuki, who founded Suzuki Motor’s predecessor company in 1909. Osamu Suzuki took his wife’s surname, in accordance with the Japanese custom when there are no male heirs.
His entry into India turned out to be a game-changer as the subcontinent-sized market, saddled with the mid-60s technology Ambassador and Fiat cars, drove up demand for the Maruti 800 small car. The waiting lists of customers stretched for as long as up to three years with the car selling at a premium in the second-hand market.
Suzuki Motor agreed to set up a venture with the Indian government outside New Delhi and acquired a 26 per cent stake in the state-owned carmaker Maruti Udyog in 1982. In December 1983, the venture rolled out the Maruti 800 small car which was an instant hit.
Maruti, now a unit of Suzuki Motor, quickly became the biggest car manufacturer in India and still commands more than 40 per cent share of the market. Osamu Suzuki’s more than 28 years as president made him the longest-serving head of a global automaker. After stepping down as president in 2000, he became Suzuki Motor’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He came back as president at the age of 78 in December 2008, when Suzuki Motor was expecting its first profit decline in eight years amid the global recession to lead from the front.
Suzuki then passed on the presidency to his son in June 2015 and took over as Chairman and CEO, but then resigned as CEO over an embarrassing fuel-economy misstatement. Suzuki was a man of spartan habits and was known to fly economy class even during his old age as part of his frugal lifestyle.
A total of 139 individuals have been recognised for their exceptional and distinguished service in various fields such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil services, and more.
These prestigious awards are conferred by the President of India during ceremonial functions at Rashtrapati Bhawan, typically held around March or April each year.
For 2025, the President has approved the conferment of 139 Padma Awards, including one duo case (where the award is counted as one). The awards list includes 7 Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bhushans, and 113 Padma Shris.
Among the recipients, 23 are women, and the list also features 10 individuals from the categories of Foreigners, NRIs, PIOs, and OCIs, as well as 13 posthumous awardees.
Padma Vibhushan (7)
The Padma Vibhushan, awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, goes to: Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy (Medicine) – Telangana; Justice (Retd) Jagdish Singh Khehar (Public Affairs) – Chandigarh; Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia (Art) – Gujarat; Lakshminarayana Subramaniam (Art) – Karnataka; M. T. Vasudevan Nair (Literature and Education) [Posthumous] – Kerala; Osamu Suzuki (Trade and Industry) [Posthumous] – Japan; and Sharda Sinha (Art) [Posthumous] – Bihar
Padma Bhushan (19)
The Padma Bhushan, awarded for distinguished service of a high order, has been conferred on the following: A Surya Prakash (Literature and Education – Journalism) – Karnataka; Anant Nag (Art) – Karnataka; Bibek Debroy (Literature and Education) [Posthumous] – NCT Delhi; Jatin Goswami (Art) – Assam; Jose Chacko Periappuram (Medicine) – Kerala; Kailash Nath Dikshit (Archaeology) – NCT Delhi; Manohar Joshi (Public Affairs) [Posthumous] – Maharashtra; Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti (Trade and Industry) – Tamil Nadu; Nandamuri Balakrishna (Art) – Andhra Pradesh; P R Sreejesh (Sports) – Kerala; Pankaj Patel (Trade and Industry) – Gujarat; Pankaj Udhas (Art) [Posthumous] – Maharashtra; Rambahadur Rai (Literature and Education – Journalism) – Uttar Pradesh; Sadhvi Ritambhara (Social Work) – Uttar Pradesh; S Ajith Kumar (Art) – Tamil Nadu; Shekhar Kapur (Art) – Maharashtra; Shobana Chandrakumar (Art) – Tamil Nadu; Sushil Kumar Modi (Public Affairs) [Posthumous] – Bihar; and Vinod Dham (Science and Engineering) – U.S.
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Padma Shri (113)
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A remarkable 113 individuals have been conferred the Padma Shri for distinguished service in various fields. Some of the prominent awardees include: Adwaita Charan Gadanayak (Art) Odisha; Achyut Ramchandra Palav (Art) Maharashtra; Ajay V Bhatt (Science and Engineering) United States of America; Anil Kumar Boro (Literature and Education) Assam; Arijit Singh (Art) West Bengal; Arundhati Bhattacharya (Trade and Industry) Maharashtra; Arunoday Saha (Literature and Education) Tripura; Arvind Sharma (Literature and Education) Canada; Ashok Kumar Mahapatra (Medicine) Odisha; Ashok Laxman Saraf (Art) Maharashtra; Ashutosh Sharma (Science and Engineering) Uttar Pradesh; Ashwini Bhide Deshpande (Art) Maharashtra; Baijnath Maharaj (Others – Spiritualism) Rajasthan; Barry Godfray John (Art) NCT Delhi; Begam Batool (Art) Rajasthan; Bharat Gupt (Art) NCT Delhi; Bheru Singh Chouhan (Art) Madhya Pradesh; Bhim Singh Bhavesh (Social Work) Bihar; Bhimavva Doddabalappa Shillekyathara (Art) Karnataka; Budhendra Kumar Jain (Medicine) Madhya Pradesh; C S Vaidyanathan (Public Affairs) NCT Delhi; Chaitram Deochand Pawar (Social Work) Maharashtra.
Chandrakant Sheth (Posthumous) (Literature and Education) Gujarat; Chandrakant Sompura (Others – Architecture) Gujarat; Chetan E Chitnis (Science and Engineering) France; David R Syiemlieh (Literature and Education) Meghalaya; Durga Charan Ranbir (Art) Odisha; Farooq Ahmad Mir (Art) Jammu And Kashmir; Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid (Literature and Education) Uttar Pradesh; Gita Upadhyay (Literature and Education) Assam; Gokul Chandra Das (Art) West Bengal; Guruvayur Dorai (Art) Tamil Nadu; Harchandan Singh Bhatty (Art) Madhya Pradesh; Hariman Sharma (Others – Agriculture) Himachal Pradesh; Harjinder Singh Srinagar Wale (Art) Punjab; Harvinder Singh (Sports) Haryana; Hassan Raghu (Art) Karnataka; Hemant Kumar (Medicine) Bihar; Hriday Narayan Dixit (Literature and Education) Uttar Pradesh; Hugh and Colleen Gantzer (Posthumous) (Duo) (Literature and Education – Journalism) Uttarakhand; Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (Sports) Kerala; Jagadish Joshila (Literature and Education) Madhya Pradesh; Jaspinder Narula (Art) Maharashtra; Jonas Masetti (Others – Spiritualism) Brazil; Joynacharan Bathari (Art) Assam; Jumde Yomgam Gamlin (Social Work) Arunachal Pradesh; K. Damodaran (Others – Culinary) Tamil Nadu; K L Krishna (Literature and Education) Andhra Pradesh; K Omanakutty Amma (Art) Kerala; Kishore Kunal (Posthumous) (Civil Service) Bihar; L Hangthing (Others – Agriculture) Nagaland; Lakshmipathy Ramasubbaiyer (Literature and Education – Journalism) Tamil Nadu.
Lalit Kumar Mangotra (Literature and Education) Jammu and Kashmir; Lama Lobzang (Posthumous) (Others – Spiritualism) Ladakh; Libia Lobo Sardesai (Social Work) Goa; M D Srinivas (Science and Engineering) Tamil Nadu; Madugula Nagaphani Sarma (Art) Andhra Pradesh; Mahabir Nayak (Art) Jharkhand; Mamata Shankar (Art) West Bengal; Manda Krishna Madiga (Public Affairs0 Telangana; Maruti Bhujangrao Chitampalli (Literature and Education) Maharashtra; Miriyala Apparao (Posthumous) (Art) Andhra Pradesh; Nagendra Nath Roy (Literature and Education) West Bengal; Narayan (Bhulai Bhai) (Posthumous) (Public Affairs) Uttar Pradesh; Naren Gurung (Art) Sikkim; Neerja Bhatla (Medicine) NCT Delhi; Nirmala Devi (Art) Bihar; Nitin Nohria (Literature and Education) United States of America; Onkar Singh Pahwa (Trade and Industry) Punjab; P Datchanamoorthy (Art) Puducherry; Pandi Ram Mandavi (Art) Chhattisgarh; Parmar Lavjibhai Nagjibhai (Art) Gujarat; Pawan Goenka (Trade and Industry) West Bengal; Prashanth Prakash (Trade and Industry) Karnataka; Pratibha Satpathy (Literature and Education) Odisha.
