Harshavardhan Neotia takes over as chairman of Ananta Centre

Kolkata: Harshavardhan Neotia has taken over as chairman of Ananta Centre, a non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation focused on value-based leadership development and promoting open dialogue on key issues facing Indian society to aid its transformation.

Neotia is currently chairman of the Ambuja Neotia Group, which operates across four business verticals—real estate, hospitality, healthcare and education. Headquartered in Kolkata, the group’s projects are largely concentrated in eastern India.

An alumnus of La Martiniere for Boys, Kolkata, Neotia graduated with a B.Com (Honours) from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, and completed the Owner President Management Programme (OPM) at Harvard Business School, USA. For his contribution to social housing, he was conferred the Padma Shri by the President of India in 1999. He is also a recipient of the YPO Legacy of Honour Award.

Neotia has been awarded honorary doctorates—D.Litt. (Honoris Causa)—by Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, Assam Royal Global University and XIM University, Odisha. He has also received the Banga Bibhushan, the highest civilian honour of West Bengal.

He is a member of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), chairperson of the Board of Governors of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Mizoram, chairman of the CII–Suresh Neotia Centre of Excellence for Leadership, and a council member of the National Culture Fund under the Government of India.