Infosys bags corporate excellence award

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 19. The national award for excellence in corporate governance instituted by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) was presented to Infosys Technologies, Bangalore, by the Vice President, Mr. Krishan Kant, here today.

The award for the second best governed company was bagged by BSES, Mumbai.

The company secretaries of the two best companies, Mr. V. Balakrishnan of Infosys and Mr. Ramesh Shenoy of BSES also received awards.

The `ICSI Life Time achievement award for translating excellence in corporate governance into reality' was presented to Dr. V. Kurien, chairman, emeritus, National Dairy Development Board, and Mr. M. S. Oberoi, (his representative received the award) Chairman of the Oberoi group of hotels.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Krishan Kant said ``if your dealings are ethical, morally correct and just, your company will be held in high esteem. If not, you will lose your reputation, standing and eventually your market share. It is essential to have proper ethical climate''.

He said institution of the corporate excellence award would prepare the soil for sound corporate governance.

Mr. Arun Jaitley, Union Law Minister, said ``in this era of globalisation, when we are looking forward to foreign investment, we need to assure the investors that their money will be safe and will be put to productive use. If the company management is out to swindle unsuspecting customers or short-change minority shareholders, you cannot expect the employees of the company to behave and work straight".

Mr. Justice M. N. Venkatachalaiah, chairman of the jury for the selection of the awards, felt that the development of right organisational culture formed the most important element in corporate governance.

He was of the view that the board of directors of the companies should adopt best practices and follow new bench marks for better corporate performance.

Dr. P. V. S. Jagan Mohan Rao, President, ICSI, said the institute was engaged in devising a code on corporate governance and was focussing on corporate professionals.

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