They are "India Inc’s best,” stated The Economic Times (ET) announcing the winners for their annual corporate excellence awards on February 8, 2021. "They are the stars that set the bar and raise it further when tomorrow comes,” noted the newspaper. Among the awardees are Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer (CEO) of Serum Institute of India (SII) and Keki Mistry, vice chairman and CEO of Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC).
Adar Poonawalla (l); Keki Mistry: raising the bar
"I am humbled and honored to receive this recognition…It has been the most challenging year for everyone… I feel fortunate… to play a small role to serve the needs of the nation and the world… by producing a vaccine in record time to deal with the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” noted Poonawalla. The scion of Dr Cyrus who founded SII, Adar was recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by ET as part of their Awards for Corporate Excellence.
SII rolled out its first batch of 5.65 million doses of vaccines on January 12 this year, barely nine months after the pandemic led to a significant slowdown in economic activities in the country (see "Vaccine rolls out,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, January 21-February 6, 2021). The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, the company is reportedly selling the vaccine to the government at a special rate of Rs 200 per dose, which is said to be below costs. Their Poona facility can produce around 70 or 80 million doses per month, Adar told NDTV. The company’s Covishield is one of the first vaccines to be sold in India and was developed for AstraZeneca / Oxford University at a reported investment by SII of USD 450 million (Rs 3,265 crores).
With India’s largest mortgage lender HDFC recognized as the Company of the Year, Mistry told ET that "this Award, for its timing, will always have pride of place at HDFC… Never before have we witnessed health, economic and financial crises erupt simultaneously across the world.” ET noted that "despite a slowdown in the economy and its impact on the housing market, HDFC "has managed to retain its leading position due to its strong franchise and own sales network…and third party partnerships.”
Mistry joined the Corporation in 1981, was appointed executive director in 1993, with subsequent increased responsibilities culminating in his appointment as vice chairman from January 1, 2010.
The 11-member jury comprising of leading industrialists and professionals, was led by Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, and included industrialist Nisaba Godrej. The annual awards were introduced in 1998. Accounting and advisory firm Deloitte have been sponsors since 2017.