Bhubaneswar: With its commitment to encourage homegrown brands, Sambad Group has organised the seventh edition of Brands of Odisha Pride of India: Sambad Corporate Excellence Awards 2024 here today.
‘Sambad’ Editor Tanaya Patnaik in her welcome address during the event at Hotel Mayfair in Bhubaneswar lauded the success of the programme that has been continuing since 2018.
“This programme has been continuing successfully for the last seven years. Every year, the number of applicants is rising and it has been encouraging us. Our juries find it tough to select the companies registered for awards. This is the success of this programme,” she said.
She said that several initiatives are being taken by both the government and private organisations at the state and national levels. The efforts need to be strengthened to encourage the talents and help them to become top business leaders.
“The ‘Brands of Odisha Pride of India’ Corporate Excellence Awards stands out as a significant initiative by Sambad Group, gaining prominence for its credibility and transparency. Year by year, the increasing number of entries reflects the programme’s true success. While commendable efforts have been made by both the government and non-government entities to foster a business-friendly environment in the state, there remains a need for further actions across various levels to establish Odisha as a premier hub for enterprises. The coming years hold immense potential for Odisha, and I believe that with the blessings of Lord Jagannath, brand Odisha will shine on the global stage. ,” Patnaik said.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who graced the occasion virtually, praised Sambad Group’s initiative for recognising homegrown brands. He termed Sambad Group a major brand of Odisha in field of media and communication.
“The Sambad Group itself is a major brand of Odisha in the media, communication and entertainment sector. I thank the Sambad Group for recognising our own brands, brands of Odisha and bringing them to prominence. These brands are contributing immensely to the growth of Odisha. I congratulate all of them for the award and wish the programme all success,” CM said in a video message.
Addressing the guests and dignitaries, Sambad Group’s Managing Director Monica Nayyar Patnaik said, “India’s media and entertainment industry is poised to hit 100 billion US dollar by 2030, according to Government of India’s Make In India report. That’s the growth we are looking forward in media and entertainment industry. Sambad Group is privileged to be part of that industry in the state. We have been able to gain this reputation, edge in the state by providing the means of media and entertainment to our people. We are privileged and thankful all our listeners, readers, viewers who made the Sambad Group the No.1 media house of the state.”
She spoke about the success of the Brands of Odisha Pride of India and the toughness the juries faced in choosing the winners among the applicants this year.
“We conceived the idea of ‘Brands of Odisha Pride of India’ to felicitate and recognise Odias who are doing very well outside the state nationally or internationally. This year there were many entries from large and medium categories. The top sectors that represented this year include manufacturing, household products, education, IT & software, consultancy services, travel and insurance. Surprisingly, 63% of entries whose applications were received were for small category. This is quite encouraging.”
Skill Development & Technical Education, Rural Development Minister Pritiranjan Gharai, who attended the programme as the Chief Guest discussed the changing scenario in business environment in Odisha.
“The business environment in Odisha has undergone a seachange in last five decades. The interest of investors to set up plants in Odisha indicates the positive change. Stable government and dynamic leadership of Naveen Patnaik has instilled confidence in the investors. Now, Odisha is a land of opportunities. In the technology-driven world, the product which is simple, easier and accessible becomes a brand. Sambad Group is coming up with innovative programmes to encourage Odisha youth. The corporate landscape envisaged by Sambad Group will definitely be realised with the support of young and innovative entrepreneurs,” he said.
Dr. Santrupt Misra, former Director of Human Resources for Aditya Birla Group and Group Director of Birla Carbon and Director of Chemicals, delivered his speech at the event.
In the discourse, he highlighted key points on various aspects of brands, corporate excellence, global economy and many more.
“Excellence comes out of a small thing, but excellence is no small thing,” he quoted Aditya Birla as saying. He praised Sambad Group for choosing to institute the award in the name of excellence.
He said that corporate excellence is a holistic thing. It is very unusual for a small state like Odisha to think about brands being the driver or co-driver of corporate excellence given the fact that brands often in relatively low per capita income stage, brands are not looked upon as the drivers of economy.
“28 millions small and medium enterprises in the US account for more than 50% of the sale. The day is not so far when we will find that the small and medium enterprises are going to be the key drivers of our economy. While recognising wider sectors like manufacturing, IT and others, you (Sambad Group) have chosen to treat CSR as a brand,” he said.
An excellent company is one that has done well enough for long enough. The problem is that many well enough organisations do not last long enough, many of those who last long enough do not do well enough. Therefore, the spirit of true excellence is when you do well enough for long enough: Dr. Santrupt Misra.
He said that Sambad has been epitomizing some of that for having done long enough and well enough.
“A lot of entrepreneurs are building brands in Odisha today. Odisha is somewhat is a land of brands. Lord Jagannath is the biggest brand and the brand ambassador of Odisha. Ratha Jatra is a brand, Dhauli Stupa (Peace Pagoda) is a brand, Konark Sun Temple is a brand. We have full of brands of many kinds. We need to learn to figure out that going forward as we build brands, the brands need to be productive, or the companies need to be productive. According to McKinsey Global Institute, If the low productive organisation could convert it to high productive organisation, global economy will expand by 50 trillion dollar,” the business leader said.
“What is a brand? David Ogilvy, known as the father of Advertising and branding said, brand is nothing but a unique image of personality we create a product, a service or individual, theatre or drama. The differentiation is the key strategy, and the revenue growth is the next strategy. Many brands died, many brands were killed, brands have been renewed, refreshed. In the age of chatGPT and AI, internet and media influencers, communities, we have the user generated content,” he said.
Speaking about the brand, he highlighted its several aspects: 1. Brand building is important 2. brand building is not a static activity 3. Brands need to stay in step with consumers on the strength that is happening in the world. 4. We cannot take product services in the name of advertising because the nature of technology and technology’s access to the consumers is changing.
He said that the companies need to think about these aspects to make the state and people proud.
“I hope Sambad continues this tradition of promoting brands giving encouragement and you all to have the courage to build your brands to make all of us proud and economically moving forward and rich,” he concluded.
Total 15 organisations were awarded at different categories at the event.
Here’s the list of winners:
- Gangpur Ventures Pvt Ltd. (Emerging category) – Silver
- Skyy Skill Academy Pvt Ltd. (Emerging category) – Gold
- Secuodsoft Technologies Pvt Ltd (Emerging category) – Palitinum
- Manikstu Agro Pvt Ltd (Emerging category) – Jury Special
- Swosti Travels (Small category) – Silver
- Aveti Learning Pvt Ltd (Small category) – Silver
- Flora Fountains & Amusements (Small category) – Gold
- Orissa Transformers Pvt Ltd (Small category) – Platinum
- Saferisk Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd (Small category) – Jury Special
- ODM Educational Foundation (Medium category – Jury Special
- Lalchnd Jewellers Pvt Ltd (Large category) – Silver
- State Load Despatch Centre, OPTCL (Large category) – Gold
- TRL Krosaki Refractories Ltd (Large category) – Platinum
- Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (CSR category) – Gold
- Utkal Alumina International Ltd (CSR category) – Platinum
