MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2013 5. <
The economic downturn being
experienced by the Indian
economy is bottoming out.
The political and economic
leadership is reposing its trust in the
potential of corporate India as well as
the locked value in our state owned
enterprises (maharatnas, navratnas and
miniratnas). �India is on its way to regain
its glory of 7-8 percent GDP growth and
nothing can stop the Indian economy
from becoming the 3rd or 4th largest in
GDP terms soon,� said P Chidambaram,
Union Finance Minister, while delivering
the Special Address on the occasion
of Skoch Renaissance Awards for
Corporate Leadership and Corporate
Citizenship.
It was not merely a simple event,
but a congregation of India�s best, in
terms of corporate leadership, business
excellence, business innovation, human
resource development, economic
���������� ������ ��� ����� ��� corporate social responsibility from state-
owned enterprises, private and public
sector players from banks, insurance,
pensions, education, markets, NBFCs,
and community based organisations.
The best practices and projects led by
these revolutionaries were conferred the
Skoch Award � the highest independently
instituted civilian honour that salutes
people, projects, and institutions which
went an extra mile in making India better.
When Skoch instituted the awards
CORPORATE ROLE IN NATION BUILDING
Naina Lal Kidwai, Country Head, HSBC India receiving SKOCH Renaissance Gold Award for Corporate Social Responsibility
Anuj Agarwal, CEO & Managing Director, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurancereceiving SKOCH Renaissance Platinum Award for Insurance
C S Verma, Chairman, Steel Authority of India Limited receiving SKOCH Renaissance Gold Award for Leadership
Lalit Gupta, MD & CEO, Essar Oil receiving SKOCH Renaissance Gold Award for Environment & HRD
Uma Swaminathan, MD, SEWA Gram Mahila Haat received SKOCH Renaissance Gold Award for Livelihood
Gauranga Das, Director, Govardhan Eco Village received SKOCH Renaissance Platinum Award for Water Conservation
of �what changed� with absolute scores �
without making comparisons of any sort.
While jury marks each of these projects,
even the peer group of the nominees
is invited to evaluate each project and
mark these accordingly. The top-scoring
projects make it to the Skoch Order-of-
Merit. A shortlist of awardees is drawn
from the Order-of-Merit recipients who
are invited to receive the Skoch Award
in an exclusive awards function, which is
presided over by a distinguished dignitary.
No industry or government support
and endorsement is either accepted or
expected for the Skoch Awards and they
remain independently instituted and
conferred as a third party�s perspective.
The Skoch Award has truly become the
national benchmark in recognising the
best in serving citizens, innovations,
improving businesses, service delivery
and enhancing productivity.
While the Skoch Awards were
conferred by P Chidambaram, Hon�ble
Finance Minister; Montek Singh Ahluwalia,
Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission
gave away the citation and U K Sinha,
Chairman, SEBI handed over the plaque,
in presence of over 250 dignitaries who
gathered from across the country to cheer
the achievements.
The Roll of Honour of Skoch Awards
over the years, is a testimony to this. Skoch
Awards not only acknowledge exceptional
achievers, but also spur inspirational
guidance and motivational leadership.
Financial inclusionLok Advisory Services
Lok Advisory Services
promotes inclusive growth by
supporting the development
of social enterprises to deliver
basic services to serve the bottom
of pyramid segment in a scalable,
affordable and commercially viable
manner. It works through two funds
� Lok Fund I and Lok Fund II. The
former focuses on developing the
���������� ������ ��� � ��� ����� has a broader investment remit,
������� ������������� �� ������ inclusion, healthcare, education and in
employability solutions. It has invested
in businesses like Basix, Janalakshmi,
Rural Shores, Drishti, Suryodaya
and Spandana, which are all shining
examples in their respective sectors.
These companies have over 8 million
customers across 25 states in India,
with over 84 per cent of them being
women. These companies employ
16,000 employees - 20 per cent of
���� ����� ������ ���� ��� ������ inclusion portfolio, these companies
have disbursed `350 billion of loans
since inception serving the bottom of
the pyramid.
Rajiv B Lall, Lok Advisory Services received SKOCH Renaissance Platinum Award for Financial Inclusion
PLATINUMBajaj Allianz Life Insurance - InsuranceGovardhan Eco Village - Water ConservationGVK - EMRI - HealthIndian Oil Corporation - MobilityLok Advisory Services - Financial InclusionNational Stock Exchange - Leadership
GOLDAISECT - EducationBSE Limited - Risk ManagementCanara Bank - BankingContainer Corporation of India - ServicesEssar Oil Limited - Environment, HRDHindustan Copper Limited - TurnaroundHSBC India - CSRIDBI Bank Ltd - ICTLIC of India - CRMMahindra Rural Housing Finance - HousingNPCI - Payment SystemsSBI Pension Fund - PensionsSEWA Gram Mahila Haat - LivelihoodShriram City Union Finance - FinanceState Bank of India - ExcellenceSteel Authority of India Limited - LeadershipUCO Bank - DevelopmentUnited India Insurance - Innovation
�� ���� �� ��� ����� � �� �� ���� ���nominees. Eleven years hence, the
situation has dramatically changed
with Skoch Renaissance Awards 2013
conferring 6 platinum and 18 gold awards
in 24 diverse categories ranging from
corporate leadership, corporate citizenship
to business excellence. Out of hundreds
of such nominations received, the awards
secretariat, after initial screening and
secondary research process spanning
nearly 800 manhours, selected 100 well-
performing projects that were invited to
make a presentation to the jury consisting
of domain experts. The presentations to
��� ���� ����� ��� �� ���� �� ���� � !��manhours of effort, left 47 top projects to
be conferred the Skoch Order-of-Merit.
Each of the submissions was outstanding,
decidedly reiterating that India is on the
super-highway, speeding towards growth
and development.
Coveted for their independence and
exceptional research, Skoch Award is
distinctive for its approach in selection
of awardees. The Skoch Award is
known to follow the most rigorous
process of selection. Nominations found
to be complete in all respects are put
through secondary research by the
Awards Secretariat. These, are then
recommended to the Awards Committee
for further evaluation. Only those
approved by the Awards Committee are
invited to make a presentation to the jury,
which evaluates each project on its merits
Rajiv B Lall, Lok Advisory Services receiving SKOCH Renaissance Platinum Award for Financial Inclusion from P Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission gave away the citation and U K Sinha, Chairman, SEBI gave away the plaque. Sameer Kochhar, Chairman, represented SKOCH Group
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2013