India: On Millennium eve: Business Line's bluest of blue.

S. Vaidya Nathan

BL Research Bureau

ASIAN Paints, Gujarat Ambuja Cements, Glaxo (India), HDFC, Hindustan Lever, Infosys Technologies, Novartis (India), Punjab Tractors, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Sundram Fasteners. These are Business Line's selection of the 'bluest of blue chips' of Corporate India as the nation steps into the 21st Century. These companies, collectively and individually, represent a set that exemplifies best how companies should conduct their business so that the interests of all the stakeholders are taken care of in the context of maximising shareholder value.

These companies have delivered good value to the investors over a long period despite the periodic difficult conditions that affect the fortunes of the corporate sector. In picking the 'bluest of blue', Business Line has cut across time, ownership patterns, industrial presence and company size. The objective has not been merely one of identifying the 'bluest of blue chips' among listed entities, it has also been to put …