consultant to provide guidance. In 2001, ending years of partnership with Suzuki, TVS Motor Company split from the Japanese automaker and started manufacturing on its own. TVS Motor Company re-entered the market by launching TVS Victor – India's first indigenously built four-stroke motorcycle. The launches that followed, set TVS Motor on the path to becoming India's third-largest two-wheeler manufacturer. Srinivasan later brought in Professor Yasutoshi Washio of Japan, a Deming Application Prize Winner and Japanese quality management guru Professor Yoshikazu Tsuda as mentors to strengthen the TQM processes within the company. Today, its facilities also make bikes for BMW Motorrad through a strategic partnership with the German firm. Under Srinivasan's leadership as the Managing Director, Sundaram-Clayton's brakes division won the Deming Prize in 1998 for having "achieved distinctive performance improvements through application of company-wide quality control". In 2002, TVS Motor Company also won the Deming Prize, becoming the first two-wheeler company in the world to do so. In 2019, Srinivasan himself received the Deming Distinguished Service Award, granted to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the dissemination and promotion of Total Quality Management. Awards and honours Venu Srinivasan was elected as President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) year 2009-10. Srinivasan was conferred the coveted Padma Shri Award by the President of India in 2010 for his contributions in the field of trade and industry. He is the "Goodwill Envoy for Culture and Diplomacy of the Republic of Korea". He was earlier the Honorary Consul General, Republic of Korea (in Chennai). In 2010, he was honoured by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, with the civilian honour, Order of Diplomatic Service Merit, in recognition of his contribution to promoting bilateral relations between South Korea and India. Asian Network for Quality (ANQ) chose Srinivasan as one of the winners for its Ishikawa-Kano Award for the year 2012, for his contribution to the theory and practice of quality management within TVS Motor Company. Srinivasan was appointed the Honorary Commander of Korean Naval vessel, ROKS Choi Young (DDH-981) for his dedication to enhance the friendship and co-operation between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of India. In December 2014, Srinivasan was conferred an honorary citizenship by the Mayor of Busan Metropolitan City, the 2nd largest city in Korea. Criticism Venu Srinivasan has also been criticised on multiple counts when he was the Chairman of Board of Trustees of the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple,