At the Qimpro Awards 2008 felicitation ceremony on 6 February 2009 at the Indian Merchants' Chamber, five leaders were recognised for their extraordinary work in the areas of business, education and healthcare.

The awards, instituted by the Qimpro Foundation, have been landmark events in the world of Indian business since 1990. Qimpro, a two decade-old organisation founded by Suresh Lulla, has been at the forefront of the quality and business excellence movement in India. Lulla's pioneering role was referred to by every speaker at the awards ceremony.

Anand Mahindra, vice chairman and managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra, was awarded the Qimpro Platinum Standard (Business). For the past decade, Mahindra has been advocating that quality should no longer be a differentiator but a prerequisite to enter markets, locally and globally. At the ceremony, he talked of how Indian industry has gone through a ''manthan'', a churning and has come out on top. Today, he said, India is not just a low-cost manufacturing country, it is ''a low-cost, high quality'' manufacturing country.

He said that while our quality of manufacturing has never been as good as it is today, we must ask ourselves if this is enough. Not surprising, from a man who has been raising the bar in his own group and has been recognised as an evangelist for innovation. Mahindra, who said that businesses should strive not just to improve the quality of industry but also to improve the quality of life, was recognised as a ''national statesman for excellence in business practices''.

Aditya Puri, managing director, HDFC Bank, was awarded the Qimpro Gold Standard (Business) and recognised as a ''corporate leader who has successfully implemented world-class quality practices and achieved outstanding performance results''.

He said that while banks around the world had been hit by crisis, Indian banks are relatively safe and secure. Puri has been one of the most influential Indian bankers since the mid-1990s, having built HDFC Bank from the ground up, and has been recognised as an ''institution builder''.

Beroz Vacha, founder member and honorary director of the Helen Keller Institute for the Deaf & Deafblind, has worked tirelessly to create educational and professional opportunities for the deaf and deaf blind. The institute was established in 1977 and was one of the first in Asia to start a programme for the deaf blind.

Vacha has enabled her students to be computer proficient and then empowered them - they now take on printing orders in large print and Braille. She was awarded the Qimpro Gold Standard (Education) and recognised as a ''leader who has successfully implemented world-class quality practices in an educational institution''.

Amitabh Mattoo, former vice chancellor of University of Jammu and currently a member of the National Knowledge Commission, was awarded the Qimpro Platinum Standard (Education). He was recognised as a ''national statesman for excellence in educational practices''.

Mattoo believes our human resources are our greatest asset. In his capacity as vice chancellor of Jammu University from 2002 to end-2008, he created a model of governance and outreach programmes, which he feels can be replicated in any strife-torn states.

Devi Prasad Shetty, founder of Narayana Hrudayalaya, was awarded the Qimpro Platinum Standard (Healthcare) and recognised as a ''national statesman for excellence in healthcare practices''. He is the first heart surgeon in India to perform heart surgeries on newborn babies, using microchip cameras. He has also pioneered operations for complex problems of the heart, such as pulmonary endarterectomy, 'redo' heart surgery, valve repairs in new born babies, and aortic aneurysm surgeries.

Shetty has assisted the Karnataka government to launch Yeshashwini Micro Health Insurance, recognised to be the largest micro health insurance programme in the world. To support this endeavour and make healthcare available to the masses, he is building 5,000-bed health cities in various Indian state capitals. Dr Shetty could not be present at the award ceremony because of an emergency operation.

The winners were selected by three panels of judges, one for each category. The business panel was chaired by E Sreedharan, managing director, Delhi Metro Rail Corp, and Qimpro Platinum Standard (Business) 2007 winner; the education panel was chaired by Meenakshi Gopinath, principal, Lady Shriram College and Qimpro Platinum Standard (Education) 2007 winner; and the healthcare panel was chaired by Ashok Agarwal, founder, Indian Institute of Health Management Research.

The Qimpro Awards have been endorsed by the American Society for Quality and the Institute of Quality Assurance, UK, and are the only awards of their kind in India. This is the 19th year of the Qimpro awards.