MUMBAI: Aaj Tak, India?s leading Hindi News Channel for the past 11 years, part of the TV Today Network today announced and honoured the winners of the Aaj Tak Care Awards, an award instituted to honour corporate entities who have contributed towards inclusive and sustainable development keeping in mind the society as the focal point.

The honourable chief guest Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee felicitated the 12 winning companies. Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, who launched the Aaj Tak Care awards anthem, was also present at the awards ceremony.

Aaj Tak Care Awards was given in 5 different categories: Education, Empowerment, Environment, Health and Livelihood.

Commenting on the Aaj Tak Care Awards Joy Chakraborthy, CEO, TV Today Network said, ?The Aaj Tak care awards is an endeavour by the TV Today network to recognise and honour the real champions of corporate India who have positively impacted the society. We looked at companies who have gone beyond their corporate objectives of growth and profitability, and laid an emphasis on the improvement of the society as their larger objective.?

He added, ?The Aaj Tak Care awards reinforces our commitment to the society and the winners have contributed to the welfare of the society as responsible corporate citizens.?

List of Awardees of Aaj Tak Care Awards
The Aaj Tak Care award for Education
? Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd
? PVR Limited
The Aaj Tak Care award for Environment
? Suzlon Energy Limited,
? ONGC
? Dabur India Ltd
The Aaj Tak Care award for Health
? Eli Lilly & Company
? JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd and
? Standard Chartered.
Aaj Tak Care award for Empowerment
? Gitanjali Gems
? Microsoft Corporation
Aaj Tak Care award for livelihood
? Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)
? First Source Solutions Ltd

MUMBAI: Aaj Tak, the leading Hindi News Channel for 11 years, part of the TV Today Network bouquet, will be announcing the Aaj Tak Care Awards On June 6th, 2012 at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi. Honorable Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee will be the chief guest at the awards night. Aaj Tak Care Awards will honour leading companies in corporate sector who have contributed towards inclusive and sustainable development keeping in mind the society as the focal point.

Aaj Tak Care Awards will be given in 5 different categories: Education, Empowerment, Environment, Health & Livelihood. IMRB International - a leading research agency filtered entries for participation in Aaj Tak Care Awards based on parameters like replicability, sustainability, people participation and innovativeness.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) with their experience and expertise in various sectors partnered in the second phase to further shortlist the companies. With their invaluable experience and objective approach they compared & evaluated the CSR initiatives of all entries and nominated the final 40 companies for the second phase of Aaj Tak Care Awards.

The third and last phase of the Aaj Tak Care Awards was the selection process by the jury where eminent personalities debated & arrived at the final list of winners.

The Jury for Aaj Tak Care Awards shared their valuable experience which helped us in ensuring that the awards are given to the most deserving companies for their efforts in the field of CSR the eminent Jury Members was chaired by Mr. Gurcharan Das, Chairman, Author & Management Consultant, Prof. Dipankar Gupta, Noted Sociologist was the Expert Jury Member, Mr. Arun Kapur, the Executive Director of Learn Today took the responsibility of selecting companies under the Education category. Leading social activist, Mr. Sandeep Pandey selected companies under Empowerment category. Mr. Rajender Singh, Environmentalist & Chairman, Tarun Bharat Sangh gave his views under Environment category. Dr. Ashok Seth, Chairman of Fortis Group of Hospitals (Cardiovascular Sciences & Cardiology Council) gave his opinion under Health category. Mr. Sandeep Chachra, Executive Director, Action Aid India, shortlisted companies under Livelihood category.

The eminent jury of Aaj Tak Care Awards finally nominated 12 awardees after comparing and debating the contribution made by all the entries.

Commenting on the Aaj Tak Care Awards Joy Chakraborthy, CEO, TV Today Network said, ?It is a matter of great pride for all of us to honour the real champions of corporate India who have positively impacted the society. We looked at companies who have gone beyond their corporate objectives of growth & profitability and have put a society centered approach at the centre of everything they do.?

Mumbai: CNBC-TV18, India?s no. 1 English business news channel has yet again hosted the 7th edition of ?India Business Leader Awards 2012? (IBLA)-Asia?s most distinguished awards for Excellence in Leadership, presented by Omkar Realtors and Developers Pvt Ltd. The awards witnessed some of the brightest stars from India Inc. take centre stage in a glittering ceremony, which was presided over by the Honorable Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee at The Lalit, Connaught Place, New Delhi. The India Business Leader Awards are a continuation of the tradition set by CNBC?s Asia Business Leader Awards.

?India Business Leader Awards 2012? has been established to honor the individuals and organizations that have created new benchmarks for corporate excellence and have taken Indian Business to a new echelon of fame.

The winners of IBLA were selected through an extensive multi stage selection process, perfected over the years with an experience in over 12 countries. In the final stage, an eminent jury selected the leaders in different award categories. This year the Jury was chaired by Mr. Mukesh Ambani. Mr. KM Birla, Mr. Anand Mahindra, Ms. Chanda Kochhar and Mr. Deepak Parekh joined Mr. Ambani to draw up a stellar list of winners.

The awards witnessed luminaries from the Business fraternity like Ms. Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director, ICICI Bank; Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group; Mr. Deepak Parekh, Non-Executive Chairman, HDFC; Mr. B. Muthuraman, Vice Chairman, Tata Steel; Mayank Pareek, Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki; Renu karnad, Additional Director, HDFC; Ajai Chowdhry, Founder & Chairman - HCL Infosystems; Kris Gopalkrishnan, Co-Founder & Executive Co-Chairman, Infosys amongst others.

Speaking at the occasion, Honorable Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee said; ?I would like to congratulate CNBC TV 18 on an excellent programme, India Business Leader Awards 2012, a platform that recognizes the individuals and organization who have created new benchmarks for corporate excellence and have taken Indian Business to a new echelon of fame.?

Further adding to this, he stated that; ?The Indian economy cannot be fully insulated from global threats as the world economy particularly the Eurozone remains fragile; the growth rate could fall below seven per cent in the current financial year from 8.5 per cent a year ago. There are some clear signals of inflation moderating in the coming months. I am expecting (inflation) to be in the range of 6-7 per cent by end March, Our growth for 2011-12 may be around seven per cent. Despite the challengesbefore us, I am confident that we will improve our short term growth prospects in the coming months. The Indian currency has depreciated by over 16 per cent against US dollar in the current financial year.

In the year of extreme difficulty, success can only be achieved by hard work.?

Speaking about the awards, Mr. Udayan Mukherjee, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18 said, ?IBLA was initiated 7 years ago to honor India?s most outstanding business leaders for their contribution to India Inc. Its success can be dictated by the fact that it has become a benchmark in achievement. This year we have continued this initiative to salute those captains of industry who have braved the turbulent international conditions and kept India?s flag flying high.?

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Babulal Varma, Managing Director, Omkar Realtors and Developers Pvt Ltd said, ?We salute the genius and valor of the Indian business fraternity and are proud to be associated with CNBC?s Indian Business Leader Awards, which commend and appreciate such pioneers.?