The nominees have been announced for the NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards, as the event celebrates excellence across India's corporate landscape by recognising outstanding business leaders, companies and innovators. The awards are built on a structured evaluation framework that combines quantitative financial screening with qualitative assessment by an independent jury.
Here's a look at how the winners are selected.
How the Selection Process Works
The awards follow a two-stage process:
- Data-driven screening: Eligible companies are shortlisted using predefined financial and business metrics.
- Independent jury evaluation: Shortlisted nominees are reviewed by an eminent jury, which considers both quantitative performance and qualitative factors before selecting the winners.
Key Evaluation Criteria
CEO of the Year (Private & Public)
The flagship CEO awards are based on the following framework:
Eligibility
- Top 100 listed companies by market capitalisation (as on April 30, 2026)
- Companies with recent CEO changes are excluded
- BFSI companies are excluded from these categories
Evaluation Parameters
- Three-year Revenue CAGR (20%)
- Three-year Profit CAGR (20%)
- Three-year Share Price CAGR (20%)
- Average Revenue (last three years) (20%)
- Average Profit (last three years) (20%)
Revenue and profit are calculated using a 3:2:1 weighting for FY26, FY25 and FY24, giving greater importance to the latest financial year.
New Economy Leaders
Eligibility
- Companies listed between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2023
- Identified as new-age businesses in Prime Database
Financial Powerhouse
Companies are evaluated separately across:
- Public sector financial institutions
- Private sector financial institutions
The assessment is based on relative rankings within each peer group.
Wealth Creators
Eligibility
- Minimum five-year listed history
- Annual revenue above Rs 2,000 crore
Evaluation Parameters
- Revenue Growth (25%)
- Profit Growth (25%)
- Share Price Performance (50%)
The assessment period spans FY22 to FY26.
AI Champion
The category recognises companies driving India's AI ecosystem, including:
- Large Language Model (LLM) developers
- AI infrastructure providers
- Companies deploying AI at scale
Selection is based primarily on qualitative evaluation.
Debutant (IPO)
Eligibility
- Companies listed between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025
Key Metrics
- Issue size (20%)
- Retail subscription (10%)
- Non-retail subscription (20%)
- Annualised post-listing returns (50%)
Green Champion
The sustainability award recognises companies with strong ESG credentials.
The evaluation considers:
- Performance in the 2026 S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA)
- Qualitative assessment by the jury
Editorial Awards
In addition to data-driven categories, the awards also feature editorial recognitions, including:
- Reformer of the Year
- Philanthropist of the Year
- Entertainer of the Year
- Trailblazer of the Year
- Atmanirbharata Champion
- Lifetime Achievement
Who Is on the Jury?
The awards are judged by an independent jury chaired by Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder & Chairman of Bharti Enterprises.
The jury comprises:
- Noel N Tata — Chairman, Tata Trusts
- Cyril Shroff — Managing Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
- Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw — Chairperson, Biocon Group
- UK Sinha — Former Chairman, SEBI
- Jayant Sinha — President, Everstone Group; Visiting Professor, London School of Economics (LSE); Former Union Minister of Finance and Civil Aviation
- Ramesh Damani — Value Investor & Member, BSE
- CS Setty — Chairperson, State Bank of India (SBI)
Non-voting members
- Sanjeev Krishan — Chairperson, PwC India
- Rahul Kanwal — CEO & Editor-in-Chief, NDTV Group
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