Seventeen companies/entities have been awarded the ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the year 2009-10. The Awards were presented here yesterday by Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Corporate Affairs, on the inaugural day of the three-day 'International Conference on Accountancy Profession: Catalyst to Sustained Economic Growth', organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). 

In the category of Banking Sector, HDFC Bank Limited has been awarded the Gold Shield; ICICI Bank Limited has bagged the Silver Shield; whereas Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited has been awarded the Plaque for Commended Annual Report for the year ended March 31, 2010. 

In the category of Insurance Sector, SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd. has been awarded the Gold Shield and the Silver Shield given to Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd. 

In the category of Manufacturing Sector (Turnover equal to or more than Rs. 500 crore), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited has been awarded the Gold Shield and the Silver Shield has been won by Tata Chemicals Limited. 

In the category of Manufacturing Sector (Turn over less than Rs. 500 crore), Ganesh Polytex Limited has been awarded the Silver Shield. 

In the category of Service Sector (other than banking & insurance) (Turn over equal to or more than Rs. 500 crore), Tata Consultancy Services Limited has been awarded the Gold Shield and the Silver Shield awarded to Persistent Systems Limited and Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited. 

In the category of Service Sector (other than banking & insurance) (Turn over less than Rs. 500 crore), Nucleus Software Exports Limited has been awarded the Gold Shield and the Silver Shield has been bagged by Info Edge (India) Limited. 

In the category of Not-for- Profit Sector, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has been awarded the Gold Shield; Silver Shield has been given to Vidya Dairy; whereas Helpage India has been awarded the Plaque for Commended Annual Report for the year ended March 31, 2010. 

. In the category of Local Bodies, Surat Municipal Corporation has been awarded the Plaque for Commended Annual Report for the year ended March 31, 2010. 

The 'International Conference on Accountancy Profession: Catalyst to Sustained Economic Growth' was inaugurated by the Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee. Minister of Corporate Affairs, Shri Salman Khurshid and Deputy Speaker, Rajya Sabha, Shri K. Rahman Khan were present on the occasion as the Guests of Honour. Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Shri R. Bandyopadhyay also graced the occasion.  Financial reporting awards recognize sectoral annual report excellence across banking, insurance, manufacturing, services, not-for-profit and local bodies. ICAI announced awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 2009-10 across sectoral categories-Banking, Insurance, Manufacturing (two turnover bands), Services (two turnover bands), Not-for-Profit, and Local Bodies-using Gold Shield, Silver Shield, and Plaque for Commended Annual Report to recognise annual report quality, and named specific recipients including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Life, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Tata Consultancy Services, Nucleus Software Exports, and The Akshaya Patra Foundation.