CNBC-TV18 celebrated the 17th round of its coveted business awards, the India Business Leaders Awards 2022, with a meeting of its high-profile judging panel.
The judging panel deliberated over 40 companies, personalities and entities in an attempt to determine the outstanding winners in over 13 categories based not only on the usual quantitative criteria, but also on qualitative markers including agility, endurance , courage, inspiration quotient, strategic acumen, and sheer courage in the face of global adversity through 2021, and what it will take to tackle whatever 2022 might throw up.
With the jury’s insightful discussion centered around the theme “Navigating 2022: Chasing The Recovery”, the conversation inevitably turned to areas that included growing with compassion, developing a culture of agility and innovation, evolution towards net zero.
Chaired by Laxman Narasimhan, Global CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, the CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards 2022 judging panel included Uday Kotak, MD and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Suresh Narayanan, CMD, Nestle India; Zarin Daruwala, Cluster CEO – India and South Asia Markets (Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka), Standard Chartered Bank, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder and Executive Vice President, Info Edge (Naukri.com), Salil Parekh, CEO, Infosys, Munish Varma, Managing Partner, SoftBank, and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairman, Biocon & Biocon Biologics.
Shereen Bhan, Editor-in-Chief of CNBC-TV18, said, “The CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards are our way of recognizing leaders who make an impact. For the past 17 years, the IBLA jury has gone through a rigorous process of judging and debating to decide the winners. The IBLA platform is not just an awards ceremony, it is also a platform for thought leadership. This year, the jury shared ideas about the “new next and never normal” and what it means for the economy and business in a post-pandemic world. Inflation has been identified as the digital risk that could derail the fragile economic recovery”
Jury chairman Laxman Narasimhan, CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, said he was “largely optimistic” about how businesses, policymakers and various stakeholders would respond to the challenges and opportunities that 2022 would bring, saying : “I know that 2022 will be difficult, but we would certainly do better.
One of the key challenges the jury was unanimous in identifying was the global expectation of inflationary headwinds. Veteran banker Uday Kotak commented on the outlook for the path of inflation and the idea that higher interest rates and hawkish central banks would become de rigueur, saying, “I’m on the side that there will be a constant increase in interest rates, but it is possible for the economy to grow.
Cautiously optimistic about future trends, Zarin Daruwala said: “We have seen the debt to GDP ratio of government increasing, so the next 1-2 years will be about how governments manage the budget deficit as well as how they use monetary policy to ensure this growth. is authorized.”
The jury was also eloquent on how a recalibration of fiscal and monetary policy measures to balance growth with liquidity and other macro-economic indicators would automatically signal a reshuffling of the global trade and economic landscape, a shake-up of the status quo. , and a redesign of the totem pole.
Speaking on the impact of rising interest rates, SoftBank’s Munish Varma said: “Capital will become expensive and private company valuations will be recalibrated as interest rates rise and liquidity tightens. will tighten. However, companies with strong fundamentals will receive capital.
Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder of Info Edge, added: “Late-stage investors who find much cheaper options in the US could end up taking money out of India. Investors will be a little more selective and demanding. Startups will have to work harder and smarter to increase value and get more funding.
Uday Kotak added his features to the realistic image saying, “Fuzzy money or bubbly money won’t last, investors who do their homework right will keep growing.” Speaking on areas that are driving growth, Salil Parekh, CEO of Infosys, said, “This approach of converting all business to digital business is going to drive the next phase of growth across the world.”
Suresh Narayanan, CMD, Nestlé called for business introspection and stressed the importance of investing more in work culture, as he believes that “if companies invested more in culture than CAPEX, we would have a lot more of better run businesses”.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairman of Biocon, said she wants to see India grow from 4% of value capture in the global pharmaceutical market to more than 15%. Moreover, she believes this can be achieved by investing in innovation and R&D; to this end, it has engaged with the government to explore the possibility of the PLI program, given the high gestation periods and high-risk investments involved in the pharmaceutical industry.
Summarizing the discussion, Jury President Laxman Narasimhan reiterated the need to place strong emphasis on the corporate culture that will provide the desired strengths to navigate the pandemic safely.
