P. Chidambaram Felicitates Entrepreneurial Excellence at IndiaMART Leaders of Tomorrow Awards 2010

• Awards Jury Chairman Mr. Shiv Nadar applauds the Awardees
• Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com presents vote of thanks to the dignitaries
• Over 350 business leaders across industries commend the Awards with their presence

New Delhi, 6th December, 2010: Bringing the Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) community to a standstill, an extravaganza unfolded on December 3, 2010 at The Lalit, New Delhi. Hailed as the most prestigious business awards ceremony for MSMEs, ‘IndiaMART Leaders of Tomorrow Awards 2010’, an initiative of IndiaMART.com and ET NOW, honoured entrepreneurial talents across sectors. The chief guest at the occasion Honourable Union Minister of Home Affairs Mr. P. Chidambaram was a source of inspiration for all present at the Awards. The chosen MSMEs were proud to receive the Awards from him before a sizeable gathering of over 350 business leaders.

Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, IndiaMART.com extended special thanks to the Home Minister, Jury chairman Mr. Shiv Nadar, Jury members Honourable Secretary, Ministry of MSME Mr. Uday Kumar Varma, Mr. Jagdish Khattar, Mr. Gautam Thapar and Mr. Kushagra Bajaj and other dignitaries present for making these Awards a resounding success.

Inspiring everyone with his speech, Honourable Home Minister Mr. Chidambaram, said, “I congratulate ET NOW and IndiaMART.com for recognising leaders in a number of categories… They have put up a splendid event.” Highlighting the role of MSMEs in the Indian economy, he said, “MSMEs contribute about 8% of GDP, that is more than what agriculture contributes. They also contribute 45% of manufacturing output, 40% of exports and provide employment to over 60 million persons… Without doubt, this is the sector that has the highest potential to create employment.”

Post bestowing recognition to the winning MSMEs, Mr. Chidambaram said, “I am delighted to see so many young men and a woman receive awards today. It shows depth of entrepreneurial talent in India.”

Addressing the nominees, the Jury Chairman Mr. Shiv Nadar, Founder, HCL; Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer, HCL Technologies, said, “I really enjoyed assessing all of you. It seemed as if I was assessing myself in 1987. I wish you all the best.”

Proposing the vote of thanks, Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, said, “I am sure that these Awards will recognise the best SMEs in India and inspire many more to take an entrepreneurial leap. We will continue to do our best to build a strong SME ecosystem in the country through these Awards and other such initiatives.”

The spectacular Ceremony unveiled the names of the brightest MSMEs of India across different categories. The proud Leaders of Tomorrow are:

The ‘Woman Leader of Tomorrow Award’ was conferred on Ms. Lalitha Rao Sahib, Managing Director, Nuthatch Nutricare Technologies Pvt Ltd. ‘Company of the Year’ was bagged by One97 Communications Ltd.

A perfect celebration of spirit of entrepreneurship, the event saw a celebrated fusion band ‘Mrigya’ kick-start the proceedings and mesmerise everyone with their performance. Post the felicitation of the Awards recipients, stand-up comedian Vir Das took to stage and had the audience in splits with his antics.

The grand success of ‘IndiaMART Leaders of Tomorrow Awards 2010’ has set pace for the next year’s edition of the Awards which promise to return with much aplomb and fervour, and recognise various other deserving entrepreneurs.