Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, is going to be honored with the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Puraskar in recognition of his contribution towards the economic growth of India.  The award carried gold medal, citation and Rs one lakh as a token of appreciation of the recipient's work.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia will be presented with the Puraskar on this year’s August 1, which happens to be the death anniversary of the Indian extremist leader. So dedicated was Lokmanya Tilak towards his mission of helping India attain freedom that he was referred to by the British as the ‘father of Indian unrest.’  

Sources inform that Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh as well as Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde will be present during the award conferment ceremony. Montek Singh Ahluwalia was appointed to the post of the Planning Commission deputy chairman on June 16, 2004.

He has also served as an additional secretary to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi between 1985 and 1990. He served the World Bank for three years. Ahluwalia is married to economist Isher Judge Ahluwalia and has two children.