Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals' chairman and managing director K Raghavendra Rao, has received the Padma Shri in the Padma Awards announced by the President of India on the eve of Republic Day. The award has been conferred on him for outstanding contribution to trade and industry.
Raghavendra Rao founded Orchid Chemicals which is a leading pharmaceutical company headquartered in Chennai, India involved in the development, manufacture and marketing of diverse bulk actives, formulations and nutraceuticals. With exports spanning more than 75 countries, Orchid is the largest manufacturer-exporter of cephalosporin bulk actives in India and is ranked amongst the Top 5-cephalosporin producers in the world.