From start to finish, the Business Standard Annual Awards for Corporate Excellence, held on Saturday evening, toasted the indomitable spirit of Indian entrepreneurship that was ready to fight all odds. And the Crystal Room at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, filled to capacity by familiar faces and famous names, clapped in unison when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the Chief Guest at the function, said categorically that the goods and services tax would roll out from July 1, after a prolonged but “truly exemplary exercise in deliberative democracy”.
The proceedings for the evening kicked off well before the scheduled