O K Balraj, Chief Financial Officer of Escorts Limited, was conferred the 'Best CFO in Engineering & Capital Goods Sector' by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), India's premier accounting and auditing body, at ICAI's 5th Annual Awards function at Palace Grounds, Bangalore. The award function was held to felicitate business leaders, CFOs and Chartered Accountants across industries in India, for their outstanding contribution in their respective field of work. The occasion was graced by dignitaries like Dr Veerappa Moily, Minister for Corporate Affairs who was the Chief Guest and Mr Rehman Khan, Deputy Chairman Rajya Sabha who presented the awards.

A Chartered Accountant by profession certified under the Indian Institute of Bankers, London, with an advanced degree/diploma from Harvard University on Project Finance, Balraj comes with over 30 years of rich and valued experience in different facets of financial operations and executive management.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Balraj, said, "I am extremely honoured to receive this prestigious award from a professional body as ICAI. This honour is a result of consistent efforts to set benchmarking policies and practices for the company".

"We are proud to have professionals who strive to deliver outstanding results in their respective fields. This news is indeed a matter of pride for the entire Escorts family and we all congratulate him on achieving this feat," said Mr Rajan Nanda, Chairman, Escorts Limited.

The Jury headed by Shri N Narayanamurthy, Chairman Emeritus, Infosys Ltd chose the winners. With six awards in each category, the leaders were chosen through nominations from various industries such as manufacturing sector, financial sector, services sector, information technology, media and entertainment sector, telecom sector, healthcare sector, public sector, infrastructure and construction. The awards were conferred based on multiple criteria in each of the categories as well as sub categories. The jury comprised of eminent industrialists, businessmen, past Presidents of ICAI, representatives of National Trade bodies, Academicians, Heads of Universities, journalists, regulators, political workers and persons from film industry.