The 45th year of the ICC Annual Awards closed in style with the awards presentation at a glittering ceremony held on 4th Dec 09 at the newly launched hotel, The Trident at Bandra Kurla complex. The event showcased the unstinting efforts of the industry, its support and commitment to the society by celebrating the outstanding contributions made by the entrepreneurs and the organizations.

The awards night was well attended by the movers and shakers of the Indian Chemical industry and the Hon'ble Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Govt. of India, Shri. Shrikant Jena handed over the honours to the winners.

It was both, an exciting as well as a memorable evening as more than 150 delegates including Entrepreneurs, CEO's, leading scientists and senior executives of the chemical industry gathered to witness and applaud for the winners of the prestigious ICC award. Amongst all the various categories of awards, for the first time ICC introduced a Lifetime Achievement award that was conferred on Dr. K.H. Gharda of Gharda Chemicals ltd. for his entrepreneurial capabilities and achievements and the remarkable difference made by him to the chemical industry.

ICC President and Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Hikal Ltd, Mr. Jai Hiremath said "It was pleasure being a part of such an August gathering. It is important that industry strives to set standards and be recognized globally for its excellence and ICC Awards is an important step towards that direction. The dedication and commitment of the winners has set a great example for the industry."

ICC has played a key role in not just enhancing the image of the industry but also towards recognizing and honouring the excellence in the industry. The ICC Awards are scrutinized by a specially formed Selection Committee comprising of representatives from the academia and industry. Amongst the various nominations, the CEO's of the short listed companies are invited for a discussion with the members of the selection committee and wherever necessary, site visits have also been undertaken.

The evening commenced with a welcome speech by the ICC President, Mr. Jai Hiremath and culminated in cocktails and a Gala dinner with melodious ghazal performances that left the audience spellbound. In his speech, Mr. Hiremath highlighted the various initiatives undertaken by the council in the last year such as setting up of Process Safety Centre, creating awareness about various International Treaties especially the Chemical Weapons Convention, Green House Gas Inventorization & Carbon Foot Print, study on R&D and its impact on Indian chemical industry with TIFAC etc. While talking about the set up of the 'Process Safety Centre' that offers services in areas such as risk based process safety, implementing & auditing process safety management, accident investigation methodologies, hazard evaluation procedures, consequence analysis and quantitative risk assessment, Mr. Hiremath appealed to members to make optimum utilization of these services.

Mr. Hiremath noted that the chemical industry is a knowledge-based industry, employing, amongst others, measures like process intensification for providing world class end-products. Keeping this in view, he added that along with Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), ICC has commissioned a joint study titled 'Indian Chemical Industry: Technology Imperatives & Business Opportunities' to formulate a roadmap for the sector.

According to Mr. Hiremath, the Indian companies exporting to the US may have to pay a carbon tax on their exports. Therefore, as a proactive measure, ICC has teamed up with one of the leading consultancy, Ernst & Young to offer services to measure the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of companies, to understand the liabilities and be prepared for the new regulations, as and when they come. Some of the member-companies of ICC have already undertaken an estimation of the carbon footprint and GHG emissions stemming from their operations, but there are many yet who need to implement the same.

He further emphasized that the growth of the industry depends on its response to environmental challenges. Members have initiated several steps by complying with ISO standards and becoming signatories to Responsible Care. He mentioned that to further strengthen these efforts, ICC has to focus on promoting 'Green Chemistry', interact with academia for bringing about a change in the syllabus of chemical education and improve perception of Government officials and public at large regarding importance of the chemical industry.

WINNERS OF ICC AWARDS / CERTIFICATES OF MERIT