The jury is out on the some of the most innovative ideas and business models being put into practice by organizations in India, with the EMPI-Indian Express Indian Innovation Awards having been announced for the year 2006.
From little-known government departments in a few states to some of the most celebrated corporate brands, the list of this year’s winners of the EMPI- Indian Express Indian Innovation Awards is wide-ranging and impressive.
Nine organizations?among them such biggies as Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Motors, and also the Water Supply and Sanitation Department of the Maharashtra government? have been selected for the gold trophy. Five others have been awarded the silver trophy.
The winners will be presented with a citation and their trophies at a formal function during the third week of December.
The EMPI- Indian Express Indian Innovation Awards, which is in its second year now, seeks to reward organizations — be in the government, corporate or development sector? which, through the implementation of unique ideas or processes, have been able to benefit a large number of people at the grassroots level.
The winners were picked up from more than 400 applications after a rigorous three-stage evaluation process. There were 20 organisations in the final short-list from which the 14 winners were selected.
The selection panel was headed by eminent scientist MGK Menon and included academics, technologists, consultants and administrators.
And the award goes to…
GOLD TROPHIES
1.Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, Bangalore: From a loss-making organization, KSRTC turned around into a highly-efficient and profit-making enterprise through innovative use of state of the art technology.
2.Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Government of Maharashtra, and partnering panchayats: For initiating a village cleanliness drive through self-help by villagers and panchayats.
3.Tata Consultancy Services Ltd: for running successful computer-based adult literacy programme in multiple languages.
4.Multi-commdity Exchange of India (MCX): for pioneering the advanced methods of commodity trading and ensuring wide dispersion of information and transparency of prices among stakeholders from the village level upwards.
5.Keggfarms Pvt Ltd: for developing genetically-bred high-yielding village-specific poultry birds able to withstand and thrive under harsh conditions of rural India.
6.MIDAS Communications Technologies: for providing cost-effective simultaneous voice and broadband data telecommunication products through academy-industry networking around IIT, Chennai.
7.Tata Motors: for developing mini-truck ‘Tata ACE’ which involves indigenous design, and is safer and more environment friendly vehicle.
8.Genpact: for pioneering the BPO sector that led to India becoming ‘outsourcing hub? for the developed world.
9.L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad: for providing community eye health-care facilities to people in remote as well as urban areas by setting up ‘vision centres’ and employing ‘vision guardians’ at local level.
SILVER TROPHIES
1.Larsen & Toubro Ltd (ECC Div): For adopting a number of innovative processes in their construction business like adaptation of scaffolding assembly for use by unskilled workers.
2.Mahindra & Mahindra: for becoming one of the lowest cost R&D units through a number of innovations like the substitution of field trials by laboratory processes.
3. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd: for implementing IT processes to improve logistics and reduce costs, which has set up new benchmarks for capacity utilization and increased productivity in the Indian petroleum industry.
4. Mind Tree Consulting Ltd: for opening up a new segment in Indian IT industry, that of information technology intellectual property, by developing new software protocols, algorithms and applications for devices like cell-phones, computers, printers and even automobiles.
5. Tripura Forest Development and Plantation Corporation Ltd: for introducing rubber plantation and crop management practices in tribal areas and marketing of these products.
