Ernst & Young’s annual business award for entrepreneurs — the Entrepreneur Of The Year Award — will have 18 finalists this year. A six-member jury headed by former Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman M Damodaran will declare the winner of the award for 2009 on February 16 in Mumbai, an E&Y press release said.

The jury had screened 310 nominations to choose the 18 finalists, which include leading industrialists such as Anand Mahindra of Mahindra Group, D B Gupta of Lupin Ltd and Amit D Patel of Sintex Industries Ltd.

Also Read   Related Stories News Now - Emerging stocks lose 20% as Mobius sees IPO backfire - Pharma, telecom, FMCG sectors may hike pay 12% in 2010 - Power ministry floats Cabinet note to push open access - 'Funds for institutes to conduct R&D in renewable energy' - Brokers make most of carbon credits - Competition to heat up as biggies gear up for small-car launch

Also Read   Related Stories News Now - Markets end flat - Turbulence ahead for airlines despite oil price drop - Weak rupee may bring cheer to NRIs, expats - LIC buys PSU stocks, sells pvt sector blue-chips in Q4 - Banks may lower deposit rates as inflation eases: Report More

The finalists include Amit Mittal of A2Z Maintenance & Engineering Services Pvt Ltd, Lt Col Hardeep Singh Bedi of Tulip Telecom Group, Harsh C Mariwala of Marico Ltd, M Venugopalan of The Federal Bank Ltd, N Vaghul of ICICI Bank Ltd, O P Bhatt of State Bank of India, Pankaj R Patel of Zydus Cadila Healthcare Ltd, R C Juneja of Mankind Pharma Ltd, Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi of Karuturi Global Ltd, Sanjeev Narula of Lilliput Kidswear Ltd, Shashi Kiran Shetty of Allcargo Global Logistics Ltd, Tapaas Chakravarti of DQ Entertainment (International) Pvt Ltd, V R S Natarajan of BEML Ltd, Vandanaa Luthra of VLCC Health Care Ltd and Vikram Akula of SKS Microfinance Ltd. The jury members are Ficci director-general Amit Mitra, HSBC India group manager and country head Naina Lal Kidwai, Accel Partners managing partner Neeraj Bharadwaj, The Oberoi Group chairman and chief executive officer PRS Oberoi and Ashok Leyland managing director R Seshasayee.

New Ipad Application :Business Standard's all new IPad App Click here to download for free Other Stories      - Markets end flat - Turbulence ahead for airlines despite oil price drop - Weak rupee may bring cheer to NRIs, expats - LIC buys PSU stocks, sells pvt sector blue-chips in Q4 - Banks may lower deposit rates as inflation eases: Report

Tags : Ernst & Young | Ernst & Young | Sebi | Anand Mahindra of Mahindra Group | D B Gupta of Lupin   Read Business news in  Advertisements -  Journey on, We are by Your Side. Click here to know more -  2 Lac Apartments, 1 Lac House / Plots. Click here -  Benefits Upto Rs. 2.36 Lakhs on the Fully Loaded TJet Petrol. -  The Best Seller is Also the No. 1 in Mileage. Click here -  Watch The Film Here. Click here to know more.. -  Leader in Passenger Car & Automobile Tyres. Click here -  1 billion in saving for Unilever without any tangles. -  A Brand New Server at a Price That Fits Your Budget. Click here -  Learn How One City is Running on FOOD SCRAPS. -  One Partnership Endless Possibilities. Click here to know more -  Helping doctors detect diseases earlier, saving costs & extending lives. -  36 Lakhs can get you a pool of Luxuries. Click here -  Which is the best plan for your daughter -  Check out the TRUE COLOURS of your Stocks, Now for FREE! -  One of the leading business schools in the world.Know More