PRESS RELEASE

MUMBAI, India, Jul 02, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Students in Free Enterprise India (SIFE India), part of SIFE International, a non-profit organization operating in 39 countries globally, today announced that Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS), from New Delhi was named 'SIFE India National Champion 2011.' The winning team will represent India at the SIFE World Cup 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this October. The qualifying teams were adjudged by leading business executives from distinguished organizations like WNS Global Services, KPMG, PWC and HSBC, at a gala event held at Hotel Intercontinental - the Lalit, Mumbai. Mr. Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC Ltd., awarded SSCBS as winners of this year's SIFE National Championship, for their community outreach projects - Sanitation Solutions and Akshar.

Under the project Sanitation Solutions, the students helped create women entrepreneurs in slums who trade in sanitary napkins, selling them to the community women. A direct supply chain between the manufacturers and the women entrepreneurs helped in keeping the price low, without compromising on product quality. The second project Akshar rolled out by the students of SSCBS, helped in sensitizing masses towards reduction of carbon footprint by introducing the concept of recycling single side used sheets of paper procured from corporates, educational institutions and NGO's. These are bound into usable notebooks by a community of hearing impaired women, addressing two important social issues- marginalization of these women and the absence of free education in the country.

Expressing his enthusiasm Mr. Keshav Murugesh, Chairman SIFE India and Group CEO, WNS Global Services said- "Despite being amongst the fastest growing economies in the world, India still has plenty of socio-economic issues. We at SIFE India feel that rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors alone, communities and citizens need to be mobilized into finding out the society's most pressing problems and solutions by changing the system, spreading awareness and persuading our people to take new leaps. I personally believe that the spark we can get from the youth - our leaders of tomorrow - will be a learning in itself." Mr. Murugesh helped create SIFE India 7 years ago in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Guest, Mr. Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC Ltd. said, "I am extremely delighted to see how organizations like SIFE India, a one-of-its-kind revolution, has a huge potential of transforming the face of our nation in years to come. I wish the SIFE team from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, all the best, for the SIFE World Cup 2011."

"SIFE India nurtures today's youth, to emerge as strong leaders, who understand the opportunity for business to make a positive economic, social and environmental impact, leading to the much needed - fortune at the bottom of the pyramid. A big achievement for us this year has been that the SIFE India Program is now being offered as a credit course in some colleges. This is only the beginning," said Keshav.

SIFE India National Championship 2011 brought together students of more than 50 leading national universities, academic professionals and business executives through this platform. The finale witnessed top qualifying colleges compete, to win the National Championship, of which 4 teams - Sri Ram College of Commerce - New Delhi, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies - New Delhi, Indian Institute of Technology - New Delhi and GITAM Institute of Management - Visakhapatnam, were shortlisted to bid for the National Cup.

SIFE India, started in 2003 with approximately 100 students from 8 colleges and now has almost 2,500 students from 65 participating prestigious colleges and over 240 active projects, impacting close to 65,000 people in various parts of India. 72 projects were undertaken last year alone by about 1,250 students who spent 1,70,000 hours, directly impacting approximately 13,000 people who have been able to generate substantial revenue through the alternate livelihood.

SIFE India this year, added to its network five additional cities - Chandigarh, Bhopal, Nagpur, Bhubaneshwar and Nasik, apart from the existing major metros - Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore.

SIFE India was among the top four finalists at the Paris World Cup in 2006. The team was third in 2008 at the Singapore World Cup, and ended up at second place in the Berlin World Cup in 2009. SIFE India is the only country apart from USA to attend the SIFE World Cup finals for three consecutive years in a row.

About SIFE

SIFE is an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders. Participating students form teams on their university campuses and apply business concepts to develop outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need. An annual series of regional and national competitions provides a forum for teams to present the results of their projects, and to be evaluated by business leaders serving as judges. National champion teams advance to the prestigious SIFE World Cup. In addition to the community aspect of the program, SIFE's leadership and career initiatives create meaningful opportunities for learning and exchange among the participants as well as the placement of students and alumni with companies in search of emerging talent.

About SIFE India

Launched in 2003, SIFE India has expanded to nearly 50 universities in more than 12 cities and has touched the lives of thousands of people, across the country. SIFE India has established itself as one of the premier student-based organizations in India supporting free enterprise and entrepreneurship. SIFE projects are guided by distinguished faculty advisors who help students apply their classroom experiences to develop and implement real-world educational outreach programmes.

For more information visit http://www.sifeindia.org.

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SOURCE: WNS Global Services

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