Birla: New feat

Mumbai, Nov. 11: Kumar Mangalam Birla has been named as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2005.

He will represent India at the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Award function in Monte Carlo in June next year.

Birla received the award today from Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia at a glittering ceremony. The E&Y show is the only global business award programme in India; it covers over 125 cities spanning 35 nations.

“There is no parallel in India for an award programme of this stature?The process of nomination and selection is unique, robust and standardised throughout the world,” says V.V. Ranganathan, Enrst & Young’s country leader for the Entrepreneur of the Year Programme.

A distinguished jury headed by HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh picked the winners in seven categories and the Entrepreneur of the Year.

The other members of the jury were N. K. Singh, former member of the Planning Commission, Naresh Chandra, chairman of the committee on the civil aviation policy, Jamshed J. Irani, director of Tata Sons, and Mallika Srinivasan, director of Tractors and Farm Equipments (TAFE).