The Wharton Indian Alumni Award was instituted in 2001 as a way for students to reach out to the outstanding alumni community, to honor the achievements and contributions of the alumni and to make alumni aware of the large and growing interest in India at Wharton.

The purpose of this award is to recognize Penn alumni, with Indian affiliation, for their impact on their field, their leadership and contributions both to Wharton and to India. The Wharton Indian Alumni Award has been converted to a biennial award from 2002.

The first winner of the Wharton Indian Alumni Award, announced in 2001, was Mr. Anil D. Ambani (MBA 1983), Chairman and MD, Anil Dhirubhai. Ambani Enterprises (ADAE) Group

The winner of the 2002 Wharton Indian Alumni Award was Dr. C. Rangarajan, former governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Dr. Rangarajan received his Ph.D. in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 1964. Scroll down to read Dr. Rangarajan's biography

The winner of the 2004 Wharton Indian Alumni Award is Lord Meghnad Desai of St. Clement Danes who is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Born in Baroda, India, Lord Desai earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from the University of Bombay. He was awarded his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania, working under the supervision of Nobel Laureate Lawrence Klein. He has taught at LSE since 1965 and has served as Director of the Development Studies Institute and the Founding Director of The Centre for the Study of Global Governance. He is an active member of the British Labour Party and received his peerage in 1991. He has authored or edited numerous books and scholarly articles for academic journals and contributes frequently to newspapers in the U.K. and India.