NDTV Profit Announces Winners of Business Leadership Awards 2009

MUMBAI: NDTV Profit today announced the winners of the prestigious NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards 2009 at a special award ceremony at Taj Lands End, Mumbai graced by Union Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee. The award now in its 4th year has emerged as the most credible and distinguished platform for the recognition of exceptional business performance and entrepreneurial abilities in India. The award night brought together the best business minds and bureaucrats of the country under one roof, including Kumarmangalm Birla, Sanjeev Aga, Rajiv Dubey, Nandan Nilekani, Tulsi Tanti, Dr. Tarun Das and Harsh Mariwala amongst others.

Inaugurating the award ceremony, Union Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, said, ?It?s not only because of the stimulus packages or policy initiatives but because of the spirit of accepting challenges which have made India weather the international financial crisis. I appreciate the sprit of business leaders and the young entrepreneurs, who recognized the gravity of the situation, took courage and faced the challenges.?

Dr. Kiran Karnik, Dr. Tarun Das, Deepak Parekh, T N Manoharan, C Achuthan, Mr. S B Mainak who represented Team Satyam that won the Business Leadership Team Award for navigating the company out of troubled waters, expressed that the success achieved would not have been possible without the extensive support that was received from the regulatory bodies and the government of India. They added that the government recognized Satyam scam as a nation?s cause and acted in a creative and speedy manner helping the team to not only find able takers for Satyam but also help them re-gain employee and customer confidence.

Mr. O P Bhatt, Chairman, SBI who won the Inspiring Business Leader in a Crisis Award, when quizzed on his plans for financing the housing sector for the low and middle earning segments, said, ?Low interest rate schemes on home finance have resulted in increased production of steel and employment mainly in infrastructure sector. Our assumption is that the economic activities have revised in the quarter ended June 2009. The demand in large Infrastructure projects have increased, IPO and QIP have picked up in the last quarter resulting in increase in economic activities across all sectors. The growth this year may not be 9% but will be more wide spread, more inclusive and sustainable.?

Mr. Nandan Nilekani, who won the Hope & Inspiration Award on being complimented by Finance Minister, said: ?I would like to thank Mr. Mukehrjee and the Government for finding me capable of executing the Unique Identity Card Project. Each resident of India will be issued a unique identity number that will be registered in a central database allowing the residents to authenticate their identity anywhere in India. This project will help transform public services and help government to reduce losses. These unique numbers will give an identity to especially the poor population giving them access to all the public services and help them participate in inclusive growth of the country?.

Winning the Indian Business Women Leadership Award, Ms. Shikha Sharma, Managing Director & CEO, Axis Bank when quizzed on what prospects they foresee for year 2010, said, ? I feel last year (despite the downfall) was very good for the Indian economy. The year gave us an opportunity to take stock, companies focused on leveraging their resources much better and India stands stronger today with the economic support that the government has extended. If India treats this as an opportunity to grow the Indian infrastructure, India will witness dramatic growth for years to come. I thank government for the policies implemented last year that have helped India come through so brilliantly.?

Winning the award in the same category Ms. Chanda Kochhar, CEO, ICICI Bank added, ?The year 2010 is already showing signs of revival. In the years that have gone by we have seen that domestic consumption has been a growth driver for India, however in the coming years it will be both investment and domestic consumption that will drive the growth of Indian economy. For the year 2010 the manufacturing companies are seeing increased domestic consumption and gradually the confidence levels of individuals and the corporates have come back. The financial year 2010 marks the beginning of the recovery process which will bring us closer to the targets that the government has set up of double digit growth.?

Mr. Brij Mohanlall, Chairman, Hero Honda, the Lifetime Achievement awardee, said, ?Without the support of all the shareholders, employees, bankers, loyal customers? Hero Honda would not have won this accolade and on behalf of the entire team. I accept this award with many thanks.?

Extensive research was carried to determine the nominees and the winners under the discerning and experienced guidance of the jury that comprised of eminent personalities like Dr. Amit Mitra, Secretary General, FICCI; Shanti Ekambaram, Group Head-Wholesale Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank; TN Ninan, Editor and Publisher, Business Standard; Rajiv K Luthra, Founder and Managing Partner, Luthra & Luthra Law Offices and Dr. Prannoy Roy, Chairman, NDTV. The jury for CSR Awards included Justice Leila Seth, Former Chief Justice Himachal Pradesh; Dr. N.C. Saxena, Poverty Commissioner and Dorab R Sopariwala, Consultant, NDTV Profit.

NDTV Profit partnered with HIIRCO as their presenting sponsors; Birla Sun Life Insurance, Blocal, ASK, Fly Kingfisher, IBM as the associate sponsors and Grant Thornton International as Business Process Advisors for the awards this year.