Aditya Birla, Tata Motors, LIC top reputation index: Nielsen

ITC ranked 4th, Infy and Wipro are tied at the 5th spot in the survey designed to track reputation of leading Indian cos

Aditya Birla Group, Tata Motors and LIC have emerged as top three companies this fiscal, out of 40 leading firms in India, in terms of reputation, as per a study by information and insights provider Nielsen.

As per Nielsen's Corporate Image Monitor 2012-13, conglomerate ITC ranked fourth while IT majors Infosys and Wipro are tied at the fifth spot in the survey that "has been designed to track reputation of leading Indian companies and provide actionable insights that help companies build their corporate brand".

"Aditya Birla Group (ABG) has emerged 'Best in Class' across all the six pillars of Corporate Image," Nielsen said in a statement.

The six pillars of Corporate Image comprise product and service quality; vision and leadership; workplace management; financial performance; operating style and social responsibility, it added.

ABG replaced Tata Motors, which had ranked first in the 2011-12 fiscal, at the top spot for this year.

"Tata Motors also shares space with ABG as the 'Best in Class' for product and service quality and vision and leadership," Nielsen said.

In the top ten, Infosys has moved up eight places to number five from last year, ITC has moved up four places and is at number four this year.

Reliance Industries occupied the 7th position while, FMCG major HUL at was 8th and Tata Steel was ranked 9th. LIC (3rd) and State Bank of India (10th) are new entrants on the list.

"The movement we see in this year's list, comes largely from the new entrants State Bank of India and Life Insurance Corporation of India -- two public sector units that have been included in the survey for the first time," Nielsen India Executive Director Dinesh Kapoor said.

Their rich heritage, coupled with strong financial health as well as the increasing focus on image building and customer relationship management have pulled them right through to the top ten list for corporate reputation, he added.

The Nielsen Corporate Image Monitor measures reputation of the 40 leading companies in India across sectors and serves as an important indicator of the strength of the corporate brand. It represents the views of 1,790 people from different walks of life, including policy makers, influence groups, the financial community, investors, corporate peers and the general consumer, across the top seven metros.

According to the survey, 25% of respondents indicated that Tata Motors is the 'Most admired Corporate' in India, followed by Aditya Birla Group (17%), Wipro (17%), Infosys (16%) and ITC (16%), the Nielsen survey said.