DUBAI: Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, will be a part of the jury that will select winners of Zayed Future Energy Prize this year, an award for innovation in renewable energy and sustainability.
Besides Tata, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson will also be a part of the jury, according to a statement released here.
The USD 4 million Zayed Future Energy Prize is awarded annually in five categories -- large corporation, small and medium enterprise, non-governmental organisation, lifetime achievement and high schools - for significant contributions to the future of energy, sustainability and climate change.
In the last five years, the award has recognised 21 innovators. Winners of the sixth edition will be announced on January 20 next year.
Ratan Tata was the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, for 21 years until his retirement in 2012.
An avid environmentalist and philanthropist, Tata is the chairman of two of the largest private-sector-backed humanitarian trusts in India and a member of the Indian Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry, the statement said.
Sir Richard Branson was invited to the jury for his commitment to identifying entrepreneurial solutions for provoking positive change in the world.
"Through their bold initiatives and innovative thinking, Sir Richard and Tata have already created a legacy that will serve to enhance the world we live in; this is what lies at the heart of the legacy left to us by the Prize's namesake and founding father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan," Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Director General of the Zayed Future Energy Prize, said in the statement.
Chaired by Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of the Republic of Iceland, the 2014 judging panel will also include Mohamed Nasheed, former President of the Republic of the Maldives; Dr Han Seung-soo, former Prime Minister of Korea; among others.
