Srinagar: Ashiq Banday, Chief Operating Officer of Banday Group of Companies, the makers of Rehmat Spices, has been conferred the Business Wizard of North India 2014 award by the India Today group for having carved a niche for his company in food industry.
He received the award few days back from Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal at a felicitation ceremony held at Chandigarh. Top business houses and entrepreneurs of India were presented the awards for their achievement and to salute their invaluable contribution in transforming the economy of the region and putting north India on the global map, a company official said.
Banday Impex Pvt Ltd is one of Kashmir’s own leading manufacturers and exporters of food items, spices and saffron.
“We awarded 26 leading industrialists of north India for doing outstanding work in their field of business and the aim of India Today is to recognize their feat and encourage them. Banday has done really well in his field and was awarded in recognition of his achievements,” said Rajesh Malik, a senior India Today official.
In his message Ashiq said he felt humbled by the award and credited his young workforce for the achievement. He said his company is manufacturing more than 100 different food products that have been received very well in India and outside.
“The idea of setting up a food processing unit was to give the best quality and hygienic products to the people of Kashmir. Our products have been internationally certified by ISO 22000 GMP, Halal, HACCP, AGMARK and other quality standards”, he said, adding, “We also aim to provide decent employment to the youth of Kashmir for which we are recruiting more than 200 young graduates within next two months”.
He informed that the company has started operations outside India as well. “I want to send my people (youth) outside so that they can get good exposure of work culture apart from lucrative financial support”, he said.
About his future plans, Banday says he is currently focusing on the ways to help poor and needy in the society. “Over last several years I have come to the realization that many people in our society are in dire need of support for varied reasons. I aim to contribute to the society’s cause in whatever way possible. We will shortly launch a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative for helping the needy as also the social sector like education and healthcare”, he added.
He urged fellow Kashmiris to support local business which ‘will in turn benefit to our own society’.
Rehmat COO Ashiq Banday bags Business Wizard 2014 Award
