The mystery of the Philip Kotler Presidential Award, presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Monday, has deepened following further inquiries into the legitimacy of the prize.
The prime minister was feted by much of his cabinet and many BJP chief ministers on social media for receiving the “first-ever” prize of this name. However, it emerged that Modi’s prize was given – through no disclosed jury or process – by the World Marketing Summit (WMS) India, a franchised event held by a hitherto unknown Aligarh-based firm, Suslence Research International Institute.
Further investigation reveals that both the WMS India and Suslence are the initiatives of a Saudi-based team, principally Tauseef Zia Siddiqui, whose online profile describes him as an employee of SABIC – the Saudi Arabian government-owned petrochemical firm, which has been keen to make larger inroads into India’s energy industry.
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