Paris: Chairman of Infosys N R Narayana Murthy was on October 13 conferred the first Indo-French Forum medal in recognition of his contribution to Information Technology and development of Indo- French relations.

French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin presented the medal to Narayana Murthy at a ceremony held at his official residence to coincide with the ninth meeting of the Indo-French Forum.

In his address, the French Premier described the honour as an "embodiment of India's capacity to take up the challenges of the 21st century", a release issued by the Embassy of India said.

Raffarin also recalled his own visit to India, including Bangalore earlier this year and noted that Narayana Murthy, who began his career in France, was a symbol of formidable economic, technological and human resource development in India.

In his acceptance speech delivered in French, Narayana Murthy thanked the French Prime Minister for the honour conferred on him.

The practice of conferring a medal started last year at the eighth meeting of the Indo-French Forum held at Neemrana, Rajasthan last year. It is given to an individual or an organisation for their contribution in promoting bilateral ties between the two countries.

PTI