OREANDA-NEWS. November 23, 2012. Anil Agarwal, founder chairman of Vedanta Group, one of the world's largest diversified natural resources groups, has been honoured with the coveted Economic Times Business Leader of the Year 2012 Award. The award was presented by the Hon. Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh in Mumbai.

The Economic Times Business Leader of the Year Award Is a part of the ET Awards for Corporate Excellence, given annually by Economic Times, World's second largest read financial daily. The Business Leader of the year award "seeks to honour a leader who has clearly demonstrated a strategic direction for success, and pursued a vision"

On receiving the honour, Mr. Anil Agarwal, said, "It is a great honour and I feel humbled for having been chosen to receive this recognition. I thank the jury and the Economic Times for giving me this award. This award is a recognition of the Indian entrepreneurial spirit which has delivered world class projects in infrastructure and resources. India has one of the largest deposits of natural resources in the world. Exploration and development of these resources in a sustainable manner has the potential of creating mass employment, eradicating poverty and making India a self-sufficient economy."

The Economic Times feted Mr. Agarwal for having driven "growth in trying times". They also acknowledged that his "growth story is different from typical first-generation entrepreneurs" because he was able to "expand in India and overseas with money raised in global markets". That set him apart from other Indian entrepreneurs who have expanded in India with domestic capital.

The ET Business Leader of the Year Award is yet another recognition of Mr. Agarwal's achievements. He has also been feted with the prestigious E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2008, and Mining Journal's coveted Lifetime Achievement Award for the year 2009. He was featured by the Forbes Magazines as one of the "48 heroes of Philanthropy" in the world.