BS Awards for excellence go to 11 people, companies and products

The Chambers Terrace at the Taj Mahal Hotel saved many guests who took cover there when terror struck Mumbai in November 2008. Sixteen months later, the Terrace played host to the who’s who of India Inc to celebrate the achievements of 11 people, companies and products that were to receive the awards for excellence at the 11th Business Standard Awards ceremony today.

The time for toasting the scriptwriters of the India turnaround story was perfectly choreographed: The stock market benchmark indices surging to new highs after plumbing the depths not so long ago, corporate health showing distinct improvement, and the government raising hopes of a 9 per cent-plus growth.

From start to finish, this year's Business Standard Awards ceremony toasted a resurgent India. The guests came from far and wide: Home Minister P Chidambaram, who was the chief guest, from the national capital, and the award winners from Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, and elsewhere.

In a full house that meant some guests were forced to stand at the back, there were many familiar faces and famous names.

The recipients of the awards did themselves proud with the quality of their acceptance speeches. Accepting the CEO of the Year award from Chidambaram, Crompton Greaves Managing Director & CEO S M Trehan said his mantra for making Crompton a profitable global player has been simple: “If you can't beat them, buy them.” That explains his acquisitions — six in the last four years — in Europe and the US. The last of these acquisitions was made, quite appropriately, today, just hours before he received the award.

When he took over as MD in May 2000, Crompton, part of the $3-billion Avantha Group, was primarily a domestic, loss-making, debt-laden entity. Today, it's a Rs 9,000-crore company, growing at a compounded 25 per cent-plus over the past five years. Net profit has been growing at over 35 per cent annually in the same period.

Former Axis Bank Chairman and CEO P J Nayak got the Banker of the Year award for steering Axis to become India’s third largest private sector bank. In his speech, Nayak said the award was a special one, “if a bit surreal”, as he left the Bank 11 months ago. Nayak is scheduled to take over as Morgan Stanley India head next week.

“Ten years back, the retail buzz was almost inaudible and private banks were knocking on corporate doors to get some business. Now that the scenario has changed drastically, it’s time to look at the next 10 years,” he said.

A common thread through the evening was that the time had come for Indian companies to ride out the storm by believing in themselves. The Company of the Year award went to engineering giant Larsen & Toubro and the award was received by Chairman A M Naik who has spent 45 years with the company, the last 11 of these at the corner office. “Imagineering”, a term coined by Naik himself, saw L&T’s imprint in rock-laden forests, hydrocrackers, nuclear reactors, submarines, football stadiums, and even Chandrayaan, the country's first mission to the moon.

Naik quoted Chidambaram as saying a few years back that nobody knew who owned L&T and he was extremely proud of that statement. “The nation owns L&T, which has always believed in taking the hardest route to make money by competing with the world’s best,” he said.

A highlight of the evening was the award for the Most Innovative Organisation of the Year, which went to Tata DoCoMo which redefined the rules of the game in the mobile phone industry by introducing the first per second billing plan. After their initial resistance, its larger competitors followed suit. The award was received by Tata Teleservices MD Anil Sardana.

While Bharat Heavy Electricals Chairman and MD B P Rao received the Star PSU award, the other award winners were Nestle India (Star MNC — its Chairman & Managing Director Antonio Helio Waszyk received the award) and OnMobile Chief Arvind Rao, whose company got the Star SME award.

The Car of the Year award was won by Maruti Suzuki Ritz and the Bike of the Year award was bagged by Bajaj Auto’s Kawasaki Ninja 250R. Kenneth Andrade of IDFC Mutual Fund was the Fund Manager of the Year (Equity) and Ashish Kumar of LIC Mutual Fund was the Fund Manager (Debt).

As the function got over and the guests assembled for cocktails and multi-cuisine dinner at the legendary ballroom, it was truly symbolic of a resurgent India. For, the ballroom, which was badly damaged in the 26/11 attack, reopened tonight.