The IMC Juran Quality Medal 2003 has been conferred upon Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Sons. 

Mr Tata has been awarded for his leadership and continuous personal involvement as a role model for implementing quality improvement in a structured way across the entire organisation. The IMC Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality Certificate of Merit in the manufacturing category has been awarded to Mithapur chemical divison of Tata Chemicals Ltd and Alexandria Carbon Black Co SAE, Alexandria, Egypt. The IMC Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality Award 2003 in the manufacturing category was given to Birla Cellulosic, Kharach. 

The announcement of the award winners was made on Wednesday by Sailesh Haribhakti, president, IMC. The other judges were Nicholas Piramal India Ltd chairman Ajay G Piramal, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research director S Bhattacharya, Ind Asia Fund Advisors chairman Pradip Shah, RSM & Company managing partner Ashok Wadhwa and Tata Sons director R Gopalakrishnan. 

Mr Haribhakti emphasised the role of the quality movement in the country, stating that the date for the awards ceremony would be announced later. 

Niraj Bajaj, managing director, Mukand Ltd, who is also the chairman of the Frontier Technology & Quality Improvement Committee of IMC, presented a brief summary of this year’s award status. Mr Bajaj said, “The Bajaj Award programme has helped to spread the awareness, to motivate and to recognise the best talents in the industry.” Suresh Lulla, chairman, IMC Quality Awards Committee, said, “The IMC Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality Award programme enables to establish roadmap for quality improvement as the Indian companies move towards new global frontiers.”