PM Modi received the first ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award on January 14 by the World Marketing Summit India. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)Days after Narendra Modi was conferred the first-ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award, marketing professor Philip Kotler Wednesday said the controversy surrounding the award was “regrettable” as it honours India inasmuch as it honours the Prime Minister.
Lauding PM Modi for his outstanding leadership and selfless service, Kotler said his efforts have resulted in extraordinary economic, social and technological advances in India. He also said that PM Modi receiving the first award has raised the bar for future recipients.
The Award Citation says:
“Shri Narendra Modi is selected for his outstanding leadership for the nation. His selfless service towards India, combined with his tireless energy has resulted in extraordinary economic, social and technological advances in the country.” pic.twitter.com/otcI8BmWmk
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 14, 2019
“Unfortunately, I was not able to make the trip to India. My physician advised that I should not travel all the way to India, not just now. So I asked my lifelong friend, the distinguished Marketing Professor Jagdish Sheth, to do the honours in my place,” Kotler told The Marketing Journal, an online portal he co-founded.
I was involved in a misunderstanding with the Indian media. Confusion over the award presented to India’s PM @narendramodi by my friend Jag Sheth and The World Marketing Summit. Here’s my @marketingjour interview to clear up the confusion: https://t.co/rHmnv86QU2
— Philip Kotler (@kotl) January 15, 2019
On Tuesday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at PM Modi receiving the award. “I want to congratulate our PM, on winning the world famous ‘Kotler Presidential Award’! In fact, it’s so famous it has no jury, has never been given out before & is backed by an unheard of Aligarh company,” he tweeted.
Philip Kotler, a renowned marketing and management guru, is the founder of the World Marketing Summit (WMS) Group.
