The government will institute awards for emerging entrepreneurs in various categories from this year, Deputy Chief Minister M. K. Stalin said on Sunday.
Distributing the first “CII Tamil Nadu Emerging Entrepreneurs Awards” instituted by the Confederation of India Industry (CII) in association with TheHindu Business Line, Mr. Stalin said the awards in categories including employment, environment and productivity were being introduced to encourage young entrepreneurs.
Hailing entrepreneurs for generating employment and contributing to the economic growth of the State, Mr. Stalin said the government vision was to create a conducive environment for industry and entrepreneurship.
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Pointing out that Tamil Nadu was also among the top Indian States in attracting global companies, he said the industrial scene had both large companies and small and medium enterprises. He noted that SMEs accounted for about 40 per cent of exports. The Deputy Chief Minister also said the government was examining a request from industry to review the service tax levied by the Pollution Control Board.
The awards were presented to A. M. Arun, CMD, Vasan Health Care, D. Sathish Babu, founder, Univercell Telecommunications, R. Dinesh, Managing Director, TVS Logistics, X. Durairaj, Chairman, Powergear Ltd, P.C. Duraisamy, Managing Director, Sakthi Masala, H. R. Srinivasan, Vice Chairman, TAKE Solutions, G.R.K. Reddy, CMD, MARG Ltd, V. Sundaramoorthy, Symbiotic Infotech Ltd. and T.T. Varadarajan, Managing Director, Maya Appliances.
Mr. Stalin also launched a publication (in English and Tamil) profiling the entrepreneurs, by handing over the first copy to T. M. Bhasin, CMD, Indian Bank. Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman, CII Award Committee said it was an onerous task for the 7-member jury to shortlist the 170 applicants first to 24 and later to nine. Mr. Srinivasan also paid a tribute to management guru C. K. Prahalad. C. K. Ranganathan, immediate past chairman of CII Tamil Nadu State Council, said the awards were aimed at bringing many unsung heroes to the limelight.
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K. Venugopal, Joint Editor, The Hindu Business Line, said the awards were modelled on the Singapore E50 and attempted to showcase entrepreneurial talent.
N. Gopalaswami, former Chief Election Commissioner, N. Kumar, Chairman, Jury Committee and Nandini Rangaswami, chairperson, CII Tamil Nadu State Council also participated. The trophies were designed by art director Thotta Tharani.