MUMBAI: Bhaskar Group's director Girish Agarwal has been honored with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year at an award function.

Agarwal won the award in the category of IT, communications & entertainment, states an official release.

This year's finalists epitomise all that the awards stand for: courage, creativity, passion, endurance and vision. They have played a significant role in transforming how India is perceived in the global order and can be truly considered as 'architects of a new world'.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards symbolises entrepreneurial excellence in 125 cities in 40 countries. In its eight edition awards had various categories, which includes entrepreneur of the year in manufacturing, communication & entertainment, business transformation, services, manager and start up.

Ernst & Young's five member jury was chaired by Bharati Enterprises Sunil Mittal.
Agarwal has steered the Bhaskar Group to the number one in language papers in India by NRS 2006. The total readership of the Bhaskar group is 2.67 crores and is the largest read publication of the nation. He was instrumental in making inroads into the Gujarat newspaper market when he launched Divya Bhaksar. He also successfully launched DNA to take on the Times of India, Mumbai. Over the years, the group has diversified into media and non media sections.

Agarwal said, "It is indeed a pleasure to have received this prestigious award. I would like to add that entrepreneurship is an attitude of the Bhaskar Group as a whole. This award is a tribute to the organization. The Bhaskar Group's success is a team effort."

Stanford educated Girish Agarwal, has been credited with building the Bhaskar group into Rs 22,00 crore business conglomerate with interests in newspapers, television, entertainment, printing, textile, edible oils and solvents.

The Group’s diverse plans emcompass setting up a refinery, ring spinning project, a 250 MW power plant in Chattisgarh, A Theme park at Chandigarh, a world class SEZ at Indore, and a school at Chandanpura, according to the release.