One for posterity: (From L to R) India Today Group CEO Aroon Purie, Citibank Country Head Sanjay Nayar, SBI Chairman and Managing Director A.K. Purwar, Union Commerce & Industry Minister Kamal Nath, Shaw Wallace & Co. Executive Director Niranjan Thakur, HSBC CEO Niall S.K. Booker and HDFC Bank Managing Director Aditya Puri

It can't get any better than this for India's banking sector. Falling interest rates, increasing demand for loans, improving bottom lines and an efficient workforce have all added to the party. And they were all there to celebrate it. December 17, 2004, saw the second edition of the Business Today Best Banks Awards being held in Mumbai. The awards are based on an annual survey the magazine undertakes in collaboration with KPMG, which is now in its 11th year. The success of the event could be gauged by the number of people who braved the Mumbai peak hour traffic and made their way to the Taj Land's End, Bandra. The event, sponsored by Shaw Wallace & Co.'s Antiquity brand, kicked off with BT Editor Sanjoy Narayan's welcome address that elaborated on how the awards were instituted to add another dimension to the Best Banks survey.

Aroon Purie, CEO, The India Today Group (the publishers of this magazine), then took centre stage, and noted that just like good tea, one could appreciate the true value of banks only when they were in hot water. He added that Indian bankers have emerged from the hot water that they had got themselves into in the 1980s and the 1990s. Touching upon a recent Reserve Bank of India report, he noted that the last fiscal had been a good one for most banks, despite most of them facing a squeeze on their spreads because of increased competition.

The best, again: For the second year running, HDFC Bank's MD Aditya Puri (R) accepts the award for the "Best Bank"	Really big: India Today CEO A. Purie (L) looks on as Minister K. Nath presents the "Biggest Bank" award to SBI's A.K. Purwar (R)
Productivity pays: Citibank's Country Head Sanjay Nayar (R) accepts the award for the "Most Productive Bank"	Safest bet: HSBC's CEO Niall S.K. Booker (R) is all smiles as he accepts the award for the "Safest Bank"

Moving on to the highlights of the BT-KPMG survey, he noted that while there wasn't much change as far as the top performers went, there had been significant improvements in the middle order. He, however, cautioned those banks that were not showing much movement, and said they needed to clean up their act and become more customer friendly, or else risk losing their business to their more efficient counterparts. "The banks' primary role should not be to shun risk, but to encourage entrepreneurship," he added.

The BT special issue (on the Best Banks survey) was then released by Kamal Nath, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, who was the chief guest for the evening.

Taking centre stage: India Today Group CEO Aroon Purie (L) and Union Commerce & Industry Minister Kamal Nath, who was the chief guest for the evening, highlight the role played by the banking sector in India's economy

The minister then went on to trace the role banks had played in the early 1990s when reforms were first introduced in the country, to how the parameters of measuring their success had come into play today. Emphasising that India was not only a country of great natural resources and a large population, but was also rich in intellectual ability and entrepreneurial skills that needed to be unleashed on the world, Nath noted that this was where the role played by banks gained even more importance.

Power play: India Today Editor Prabhu Chawla (L) and Reliance Industries' VC & MD Anil Ambani are all attention

In the limelight: (From L to R) Union Commerce & Industry Minister Kamal Nath, India Today Group CEO Aroon Purie, India Today Editor Prabhu Chawla and Living Media India Ltd.'s Director (Finance) Anil Mehra engage in an impromptu discussion

However, he quipped that banks have the reputation of giving an umbrella when the sun is shining and taking it away when it rains. This is what needed to change. "Banks are at the heart of the country's economic growth, and today India stands in the departure lounge. It is the banks perhaps that hold the boarding card that would enable the country to take off," he said.

Ian Gomes, Country Managing Director (India), KPMG, touched upon how the survey was carried out and how the banks had today moved beyond their traditional roles into diverse functions. He said it was up to the banks to increase their level of sophistication in their disclosures that would enable the survey to become more subjective in the years to come.

On the actual awards front, there weren't many upsets from last year. The first award of the evening, which was for the Biggest Bank, went to the State Bank of India (SBI). Its Chairman and Managing Director A.K. Purwar joked how with its 14,000-strong branch network, SBI had the award reserved for the next few years.

The special: India Today CEO A. Purie (L) looks on as Union Minister K. Nath releases the Best Banks issue of BT

The Best and the Biggest: HDFC Bank's Aditya Puri (L) and SBI's A.K. Purwar in a pensive moment

Sanjay Nayar, Country Head, Citibank, the winner of the Most Productive Bank award, said that while it was great to receive the award, it cut both ways as its customers felt that the bank made too much money off them, and the employees complained about not being paid enough.

Accepting the award for the Safest Bank, Niall S.K. Booker, CEO, HSBC, thanked his customers and his employees who had gone through changing times recently. "This award is a double-edged sword as while safety is a pre-requisite for banking brand value, I hope it doesn't stigmatise us with the feeling that we are a bit boring," he joked.

The final and the biggest award of the evening, that for the Best Bank, went to HDFC Bank. Collecting the award for the second year running, Aditya Puri, Managing Director, HDFC Bank, assured the minister that while the banks were waiting in the transit lounge with their boarding cards in hand, they want their boarding cards back with a present-their interest and their money back.

The evening ended with BT's Publishing Director Pavan Varshnei offering a vote of thanks.

Unveiling the secrets: Business Today's Publishing Director Pavan Varshnei (L) and KPMG Country Managing Director (India) Ian Gomes share the workings behind the Best Banks' survey, which is in its 11th year now