THE POLESTAR FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF TENTH ANNUAL POLESTAR AWARDS

~ Recognises Excellence in IT and Business Journalism for 2007 ~

Chennai, July 15, 2008: The PoleStar Foundation, an independent trust established in 1998 to recognize Excellence in Journalism, announced the winners of the Tenth Annual PoleStar Awards in a ceremony held at the Taj Coromandel, last evening. To commemorate the completion of this significant decennial milestone, PoleStar Foundation released a compendium of award-winning articles from the inception of the PoleStar Award. Mr. T N Seshan, Former Chief Election Commissioner of India presided over the function and released this compendium. The Chief Guest of the function, Mr. R Seshasayee, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland, felicitated this year’s winners.

The winners of the Tenth Annual PoleStar Awards are:

1. Best Feature in IT Journalism:

Mr. Pankaj Mishra, currently Executive Editor, Indian Edition of CIO Magazine, Bangalore, for his story, “Rural twist to BPO story”, published in Mint.

2. Best Feature in Business Journalism:

Ms. Pallavi Srivastava, currently Special Correspondent, CNBC TV 18, New Delhi, for her story, “Kiranas strike back”, published in Business Today.

3. The award titled, ‘Jury’s Special Recognition’, was conferred upon Ms. Pratima Harigunani, Assistant Editor, Content for CyberMedia News, CIOL for her stories on ‘What’s cooking at OPD’ and ‘Is your ATM safe?’.

This year, the Foundation received 155 nominations from journalists across India. A team of esteemed Jury members from Corporate, Media and Academic sectors selected winners in the categories of IT and Business Journalism. The jury comprised of Mr. Abhay Gupte, CEO, Logica India; Mr. Anand Parthasarathy, Consulting Editor (IT), The Hindu; Mr. Anand Sudarshan, CEO & MD, Manipal Education; Mr. Arun Kumar N.T., CEO, Dun & Bradstreet; Dr. Ashok Korwar, CEO Coach & Former Professor, IIM-A; Mr. Pradipto K Mohapatra, President & CEO, RPG Enterprises Ltd; Mr. Ramaraj R, Co-Founder and former CEO Sify Ltd and Mr. L. Subramanyan, CEO, Chandamama Publications Ltd.

The highlights of the awards function was a panel discussion on the ‘Role of Business Journalism in the Globalised Environment’. The panel featured thought leaders from the Industry, Media and Academia. Moderated by Sanjay Pinto, Bureau Chief (Tamil Nadu), NDTV, the panel discussion comprised eminent participants including Mr. V Balaraman, Director, Adrenalin eSystems Ltd.; Mr. V Balasubramanian, Assistant Resident Editor, The Economic Times; Mr. Pradipto K Mohapatra, President & CEO, RPG Enterprises; Mr. Narayanan, Director, 20:20 MEDIA; Dr. K Nirmala Prasad, Principal, M.O.P. Vaishnav College for Women; Ms. Sushila Ravindranath, Editor, Deccan Chronicle.

The awards evening was also attended by the winners of the last ten years who came from different parts of the country.

About PoleStar Award

The PoleStar Award is an annual award by the PoleStar Foundation for Excellence in Indian journalism. This prestigious recognition for the Indian journalists includes a trophy, a citation and a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000.

About The PoleStar Foundation

The PoleStar Foundation instituted the PoleStar Award in 1998 to celebrate Excellence in IT & Business journalism. The foundation through its annual awards pays tribute to the media citizens’ contribution, for their commitment to the nation and its people, and also for tirelessly acting as a catalyst in disseminating quality information to the world. For further details, visit http://www.polestar-foundation.org/

For more information, contact:

Nikhila Kesavan/ Vinitha Senthamil

The PoleStar Foundation

Phone: 91-44-28260145

Mb: 9840368048

E-mail: polestarfoundation {at} gmail(.)com