ELGi: Building Global Excellence Through Purpose-Driven Leadership
Dr Jairam Varadaraj
Managing Director, Elgi Equipments Limited
For over six decades, Elgi Equipments has pursued an ambitious vision: to build a globally admired engineering enterprise from India, one that competes not only through technology, but through values, innovation, and commitment to creating customer value. More than building world-class air compressors, ELGi is demonstrating that an Indian company can shape the future of global manufacturing with purpose at its core.
Today, ELGi serves customers in more than 120 countries and stands among the world’s leading air compressor manufacturers. This global journey has been driven by a management philosophy rooted in long-term thinking, operational excellence, continuous improvement, and the courage to challenge industry conventions.
At ELGi, innovation begins with understanding the “why” behind every engineering challenge. Sustained investments in research and development, manufacturing excellence, digital technologies, and deep backward integration have enabled the company to continuously raise the benchmark for quality, reliability, energy efficiency, and customer experience. Every advancement reflects a simple belief that engineering should solve meaningful problems and deliver lasting value.
Equally fundamental is ELGi’s conviction that business success must create positive societal impact. Guided by its purpose, Conscience in Action, the company invests in education, vocational skill development, and community initiatives that expand opportunities for future generations, while fostering a culture built on trust, ownership, accountability, and respect for people.
Being recognised with the MMA Award for Managerial Excellence is a proud milestone in ELGi’s journey. More than recognising business performance, it reflects the values, culture, and management practices that have shaped our organisation over the years, bringing together innovation, integrity, customer-centricity, and sustainable growth. Above all, it is a tribute to the collective commitment of our employees, customers, partners, and stakeholders, whose trust and contributions continue to inspire us to strive for excellence every day.
As ELGi advances towards its aspiration of becoming one of the world’s top three compressed air solution providers by 2035, this recognition reaffirms our commitment to building an enduring global institution from India that creates value far beyond products, earns the trust of customers, strengthens industries, and contributes meaningfully to society for generations to come.
Apollo Hospitals: Where Purpose Meets Stewardship
Reflections on building an institution where finance enables clinical excellence and purpose guides every decision
Krishnan Akhileswaran
Group Chief Financial Officer, Apollo Hospitals
When I joined Apollo Hospitals over fifteen years ago, I came with the perspective of a finance professional. Over the years, I have come to appreciate that healthcare teaches you to think very differently about value. It is one of the few sectors where success cannot be measured by financial outcomes alone. The true measure lies in the quality of care delivered, the trust earned, the lives transformed and the communities served.
Hospitals are among the most capital-intensive and resource-intensive institutions to build and sustain. Every ICU, operating theatre, diagnostic platform and digital capability represents decades of investment, exceptional clinical talent and a focused commitment to patient care. While financial stewardship is essential, its purpose is not simply to preserve margins—it is to ensure that institutions continue investing in better infrastructure, advanced technologies, research, innovation and, above all, better patient outcomes.
This is perhaps the greatest lesson Apollo has taught me.
Founded on Dr. Prathap C. Reddy’s vision that every Indian should have access to world-class healthcare, Apollo has consistently challenged convention and pioneered numerous firsts in Indian healthcare. Whether introducing advanced transplant programmes, cutting-edge oncology, robotic surgery, proton therapy or integrated digital healthcare, the organisation has never been driven by what was easiest, but what was right for patients and for the future of healthcare in India.
Today, that vision has evolved into India’s largest integrated healthcare ecosystem, spanning 78 hospitals, nearly 11,000 operating beds, over 10,000 doctors, more than 7,250 pharmacies across 1,300+ cities, a digital platform serving over 47 million registered users and FY26 consolidated revenues of over ₹25,000 crore.Behind these numbers lies a disciplined approach to capital allocation—one that has enabled sustained investment in clinical excellence, technology and access while remaining true to our founding purpose.
As Group CFO, I have come to believe that capital allocation is among the most consequential responsibilities in healthcare. Every investment decision must balance financial discipline with its ability to improve clinical outcomes, expand access, strengthen quality and lower the total cost of care over time. A hospital is not built for the next quarter—it is built to serve generations. The decisions we make today shape the quality of healthcare available for decades to come.
As healthcare is transformed by artificial intelligence, genomics and digital innovation, one truth remains unchanged: the wisdom, judgement and humanity of clinicians will always be at the heart of exceptional care. Technology will empower clinicians, but it will never replace compassion, experience or the trust between a doctor and a patient. Our responsibility is to build an ecosystem where clinicians can thrive, supported by world-class infrastructure, research, technology and responsible financial stewardship.
Receiving the MMA Award for Managerial Excellence is therefore especially meaningful. It recognises more than operational excellence or organisational scale. It recognises an institution that has demonstrated that purpose and stewardship are inseparable—that disciplined management, sound governance and thoughtful capital allocation can coexist with compassion, innovation and clinical excellence.
This recognition belongs to our founders, clinicians, nurses, caregivers and every member of the Apollo family who have helped build an institution trusted by millions.
As we look to the future, our aspiration remains unchanged—to continue pioneering healthcare that is more accessible, more personalised and more preventive, while ensuring that every decision, whether clinical, operational or financial, is guided by one enduring principle: doing what is right for the patient. At Apollo, that is not simply our philosophy; it is our responsibility.
Indus Life Sciences Pvt Ltd: Every enduring enterprise begins with a dream
Driven by vision, built with determination, and powered by innovation, Indus continues advancing global healthcare with quality and trust.
P G Jayaram
Director, Indus Life Sciences Pvt Ltd
Indus was born in 1999, when three colleagues shared a common vision—to build pharmaceutical brands that would outlive them and improve the lives of patients across the world. While many companies focused on established markets, we chose a different path: serving international markets by developing products that addressed the unique healthcare needs of each country.
Coming from ordinary middle-class families, entrepreneurship was a leap of faith. Leaving secure careers without financial backing demanded courage, conviction and perseverance. With borrowed capital of just ₹50,000, one product, one country, one desktop computer, and an unwavering belief in our vision, Indus began its journey. Our first year closed with export sales of approximately ₹20 lakh, laying the foundation for what would become a remarkable growth story.
Today, as we celebrate our Silver Jubilee, Indus has evolved into a trusted international pharmaceutical group with a presence across 45+ countries, a portfolio of 250+ products, 900+ product registrations, and a dedicated team of 450+ professionals across our businesses. Our expansion into consumer healthcare, overseas subsidiaries, and our strategic entry into the Indian pharmaceutical market have strengthened our platform for sustainable growth. Many of our brands are now trusted by doctors, pharmacists and healthcare institutions across multiple countries.
Looking ahead, Indus continues to invest in the future through strategic partnerships in high-value chronic therapy segments, including Oncology, Biosimilars, Diabetes, Insulins and GLP-1 therapies, positioning the company for its next phase of global growth.
Vision 2030
Indus aims to build a ₹500 crore pharmaceutical group with operations in 100 countries, supported by 1,200 product registrations and a passionate team of 750 professionals, while empowering the next generation to preserve the legacy, values, culture and purpose that define the orgnisation.
The Indus Way – Policies & Practices
The company’s commitment to quality and compliance is reflected in its sourcing of products from WHO-GMP, EU-GMP, PIC/S and ISO-compliant manufacturing facilities. This is supported by comprehensive quality assurance through supplier qualification, pre-dispatch inspections and independent laboratory testing, wherever required, along with continuous monitoring of quality systems by the Indus Quality Assurance team. Equality important is its focus on people and culture. Indus provides comprehensive employee welfare covering medical insurance, leave, transport, education support and training, along with overseas exposure, leadership development, team-building initiatives, women empowerment and equal opportunity. The organisation also encourages internal career growth through promotion from within the extends housing support for employees.
Responsible growth remains an integral part of the Indus philosophy. The company undertakes Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives in India and international markets, while a Charitable Trust is under formation to further strengthen its community impact.
Our Purpose
Indus is not merely building a pharmaceutical company. It is building an institution that continues to improve lives across generations through quality, innovation, integrity and trust.
SSN College of Engineering: Setting benchmarks in excellence, innovation and social impact
Consistently ranked among India’s finest, SSN empowers aspiring engineers through excellence, innovation, research and holistic education.
Mr Ananda V Raman
Associae Director – Marketing, SSN College of Engineering
Established in 1996 by Mr. Shiv Nadar, was his first initiative in the field of education. Situated on a sprawling 230-acre campus in Chennai, SSN has emerged as one of India’s leading engineering institutions, renowned for academic distinction, research, innovation and social responsibility.
Ranked 47th in Engineering, 82nd Overall and placed in the Band 11 – 50 Innovation Category in the NIRF 2025 Rankings by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, SSN has remained among the nation’s top 100 institutions for nine consecutive years. Accredited by NAAC and NBA, it has been selected by UGC and AICTE to mentor higher educational institutions under the PARAMARSH and MARGDARSHAK schemes and was chosen by NITTTR as a case study for its SWAYAM course on accreditation.
SSN is the first educational institution in India to earn the AASHE STARS Gold Rating (Version 3.0) – the highest rating achieved globally to date – and has been recognised as a Top Performer in the 2025 Sustainable Campus Index. It has also received the Global E-STEM Excellence Prize, Clarivate India Research Excellence – Citation Award and the IEI Engineering Education Excellence (Platinum) Award.
With over ₹100 crore in scholarships benefiting 10,814+ students, 50+ startups incubated through SSN iFound, distinguished alumni including Padma Shri awardee R. Ashwin and alumni contributing ₹25 lakh annually towards scholarships, SSN continues to nurture future-ready leaders and create lasting societal impact.
