The Business Standard Annual Awards for Corporate Excellence for 2017, held on the evening of April 1, celebrated the spirit of Indian entrepreneurship. India’s Minister for Defense and chief guest at the function, Nirmala Sitharaman, said, “In this country it is possible to reach the top and stay there by good leadership and belief in what you are doing. It was nice to notice that Maruti Suzuki is bigger than its parent company [Suzuki], both in volume and in size. These are the kind of things that throw light on the possibilities in this country.”
The Awards and Recipients:
CEO of the year: Sajjan Jindal, chairman and managing director of Jindal Steel
Company of the year: Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest automaker
Banker of the year: Arundhati Bhattacharya, former chairman of state-owned State Bank of India
Star Multinational Corporation: 3M India
Star State-Owned Corporation: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
Star Small- & Medium-Size Enterprise: Sheela Foam, a company that manufactures polyurethane or polyester foam used in acoustic insulation, air conditioning, apparel, automobiles, aviation, bedding, electronics, packaging, furniture, footwear, and thermal insulation among other applications.
Start-Up of the Year: BYJU’s an educational technology and online tutoring company that has attracted investors from across the world. It explains math and science concepts through visualizations for students from grade 6 – 12; it also preps students for competitive examinations in India.
Social Entrepreneur of the Year: Matthew Spacie, founder of Magic Bus, which grew from an informal, volunteer-led activity for disadvantaged children, into a leading organization working in the area of mentoring some of India’s most indigent and young people from education to livelihood.
Social Enterprise of the Year: PRADAN — a Non-Governmental Organization whose name is an acronym for Professional Assistance for Development Action — has 400 professionals with specialized credentials in subjects like management, engineering, agriculture, and the social sciences, working in remote villages of India to help families enhance their livelihoods through concrete action programs.
Socially Aware Company: Mahindra & Mahindra, a large automaker and also the maker of the largest number of small tractors in the world.
