ICSI National Awards For Excellence In Corporate Governance Held In New Delhi

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India in a grand event presented the ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance, 2019 to the stalwarts of the India Inc. for their exemplary performance in promoting good governance. The Award ceremony held today in New Delhi was marked by the who's who of the Indian Corporate Sector and Governance Professionals. 

Anurag Singh Thakur, Hon'ble Union Minister of State, Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs and Justice Dipak Misra, Former Chief Justice of India presided over as the Guests of Honour at the Award Ceremony.

While addressing the august gathering, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Hon'ble Union Minister of State, Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs, said that "Being KMPs and Compliance Officers, Company Secretaries take pride in referring themselves as Governance Professionals and rightly so, you are the true Governance Officers of the Indian Corporate Sector.".

Having presided over the Jury Meeting of the Awards as Chairman, Justice Dipak Misra, Former Chief Justice of India congratulated the ICSI for its relentless efforts towards promoting the cause of Good Corporate Governance practices and shared his experiences of the Selection Process of the Winners and Awardee Companies.

The Award Ceremony was preceded by Key Note Addresses by Sonam Wangchuk, Founder, The Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) and Dr. Ritesh Malik, Founder, Innov8 Coworking.

The prestigious ICSI Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on Indu Jain, Chairperson, Bennett Coleman & Company Limited for Translating Excellence in Corporate Governance into reality.

In the 19th edition of the ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance, the Award for Best Governed Companies were presented to the following Companies:

1)Mahindra & Mahindra Limited (Listed Company: Large Category)

2)Blue Star Limited (Listed Company: Medium Category)

3)Tata Steel Long Products Limited (Listed Company: Emerging Category)

4)BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (Unlisted Company: Large Category)

5)Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Limited (Unlisted Company: Medium Category)

6)Route Mobile Limited (Unlisted Company: Emerging Category)

The ICSI has also been bestowing upon the Best Corporates awards in recognition of their innovative practices undertaken in an attempt of dispensing off their Corporate Social Responsibilities. In its 4th edition, the ICSI CSR Excellence Awards were presented to: 

1)Apollo Tyres Limited (Large Category)

2)SRF Limited (Medium Category)

3)Persistent Systems Limited (Emerging Category)

This year, a new Award was instituted by the ICSI under the aegis of ICSI Best Secretarial Audit Report Award. The award was aimed at recognizing the efforts of Secretarial Auditors in elevating the culture of governance in the corporate sector and enhancing the importance of Secretarial Audit Report. The ICSI Best Secretarial Audit Report Awards were presented to:

1)CS Atul Mehta, Mehta & Mehta Associates

2)CS (Dr.) CV Madhusudhanan, KSR & Co.

3)CS Vinita Nair, M/s Vinod Kothari & Co.

CS Ranjeet Pandey, President, ICSI, during his Presidential address said, "the initiation of the ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance was an attempt made by the Institute in furtherance of its vision to become a global leader in promoting good Corporate Governance. While these Awards recognise the best practices adopted, the innovations inculcated and the presence of a strong governance framework at the core, it is a greater attempt in recognising the collaborative efforts of the corporates and the Governance Professionals in achieving the desired results. Company Secretaries have come to play a much larger role than ever, in their roles as KMPs, as Compliance Officers and as Governance Professionals, making this journey of fifty-one years as an Institute all the more worthwhile." 

CS Ashish Garg, Vice President, ICSI, CS NPS Chawla, Council Member, ICSI and Chairman, Corporate Laws and Governance Committee were also present at the event.