Mumbai: Finance minister. P Chidambaram will present awards to the winners of the ''Citigroup micro entrepreneur awards 2004'' on February 1 in New Delhi. Yesterday, Sanjay Nayar, Citigroup country officer, India and area head, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, had announced the list of 12 below-poverty-line micro entrepreneurs selected for the awards. The awards recognise the entrepreneurial skills and exemplify the spirit of the winners who have exhibited best performance to emerge from below the poverty line to become self-sustaining micro entrepreneurs and contribute meaningfully to society.

According to Citigroup''s Nayar, "We take great pride in the fact that we have been able to establish successfully, a platform, where recognition can be given to key performers who have set up enterprises successfully through access to micro-credit."

Classified in three different categories — the ''national micro entrepreneur award'', the ''national runner-up award'' and the ''socially responsible micro entrepreneur'', the winners were adjudged by a national jury of eminent personalities.

2005 being earmarked as the ''international year of microcredit'' by the United Nations, Citigroup India conceptualised these awards, which were implemented by Partners in Change (PiC), a non profit organisation, through a grant support of $60,000 from Citigroup Foundation.

The winners were selected on the basis of an evaluation by the Indian Institute of Management at Bangalore and Kolkata, Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi, and S P Jain Institute Research and Management, Mumbai, appointed as screening organisations in each region.

The entries were selected by a jury comprising N K Singh, former finance secretary, Dilip Ranjekar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation, H N Sinor, chief executive, Indian Banks Association, Gautam Thapar, VC & MD Ballarpur Industries, S K Tamotia, CEO, Indal and M. S. Thimappa, vice chancellor, Bangalore University.

According to Sarvesh Sarup, Consumer Bank Head, Citigroup, India "Microfinance is making a positive impact on the household budgets and quality of life for thousands of people in India. We are delighted to take the lead in this initiative."