At a function held at the Sarojini Padmanabhan Memorial Auditorium at Manappuram’s Valapad HO, a bust of Late Smt. Sarojini Padmanabhan, cast in bronze, was unveiled by Shri V.P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO.
 
Smt. Sarojini Padmanabhan was the wife of the founder of Manappuram, Late Shri V.C. Padmanabhan and mother of Mr. Nandakumar. As a career school teacher, she assisted her husband in the running of the business in its formative years by working after-school hours. The function was blessed by the presence of Shri. Narasimha Adiga of Kollur Mookambika Temple and Swami Sachindanadam of Shivagiri Mutt. After the unveiling ceremony, Swami Sachindandam spoke to the invited audience on the topic, “Blessed Life”.

Manappuram Finance Ltd., a leading NBFC, and other companies of the Kerala based Manappuram Group held its Annual Sports Meet at the Thalikulam GHSS grounds on January 26, 2018.  The grueling day-long event featured competitions in more than fifteen athletic and sporting events for both individuals and teams, with male and female employees competing in three different age groups.

The highlight of the day was the presentation of four Maruti cars to prize-winning employees of Manappuram Finance Ltd. for outstanding performance in generating leads for the insurance business during the preceding quarter. Mr. V P Nandakumar, MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Limited, formally handed over the keys of a brand new Maruti Celerio to the winner, Ms. Santhi V, employee of the company’s Ambasamudram Branch in Thirunelveli (Tamil Nadu).  

Three other winners, Ms. Sarimol of Rajakad Branch (Idukki), Mr. Yedukondalu (Area Head, Ongole, Andhra Pradesh) and Mr. Jobin George (Regional Manager, Thrissur) received the keys to a new Maruti Alto each.

Manappuram Finance Ltd. has traditionally focused on gold loans but since 2014 has diversified aggressively into microfinance, insurance broking, home and vehicle loans, SME finance, foreign exchange and money transfer. The new businesses (including through its subsidiaries) now contribute more than 20 percent of the total business of the company.

Mr. V.P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd. was one among the 16 finalists at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2017 held in Mumbai on February 15, 2018. A distinguished nine-member independent Jury Panel, headed by Shri Dilip Shanghvi (Managing Director, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries) selected the finalists. Other Jury Members included Harsh Goenka, Chairperson, RPG Enterprises, Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman, Max Financial Services, and Romesh Sobti, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IndusInd Bank.
 
EY (formerly Ernst & Young), a leading global professional services organisation, has been honouring the disruptive innovators in Indian business since 1999 with its Entrepreneur of the Year Awards across several categories and this year marked the 18th edition of the awards.
 
Sanjiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Finserv was declared the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year India 2017 and he will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo in June this year. India’s Metro Man, Dr. E. Sreedharan, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions in transforming public transport in India.

Manappuram Finance Ltd. was among the 4 shortlisted finalists
 
Manappuram Finance Ltd. was among the 4 shortlisted finalists at the SECONA Shield Safe Bank of the Year Award 2018 powered by Secutech India, held in Mumbai on April 6, 2018.
 
Shield Awards are the first awards in the Indian security & safety industry focused on recognizing the contribution of individuals, organisations and teams, in inculcating innovation and excellence in their offerings. Manappuram Finance Limited was shortlisted as a finalist under the category of Safe Bank of the Year. Other finalists include Bandhan Bank Limited, FINO PayTech and Vijaya Bank.

Manappuram Insurance Brokers Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Manappuram Finance Ltd., inaugurated its new corporate office at Valapad (Thrissur District, Kerala) today. Located on the 2nd floor of the old head office building of its parent, the office has been fully renovated to international standards. It was inaugurated by Shri V. P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd.  Speaking on the occasion, Shri Nandakumar congratulated the employees for the excellent performance put up by the subsidiary and expressed hope that insurance would soon contribute significantly to the company’s growth.
 
Manappuram Insurance Brokers Limited (a 100% subsidiary of Manappuram Finance Ltd.) covered a million lives in the year 2017-2018 by providing its customers with products which cover financial uncertainties  due to death, health Issues, and accidents. The products also encourage investors to enhance their savings and returns through investments.

Photo: Mr. V.P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd., cuts the ribbon to inaugurate the new corporate office of Manappuram Insurance Brokers Ltd. Also seen in the photograph are Mrs. Sushama Nandakumar, Mr. P.K. Vijayakumar (Former Insurance Ombudsman for Kerala and Lakshadweep) and Mr. Kamalakar Sai Palavalasa (CEO, Manappuram Insurance Brokers Ltd.)

Conference of Banks and Financial Institutions lending to Manappuram Finance Limited under the Multiple Banking Arrangement.

The ninth V.C. Padmanabhan Memorial Awards for Excellence for 2018 were conferred on the distinguished awardees at a function held on June 19, 2018 at the Lulu International Convention Centre, Thrissur.

Prominent winners for the year included the eminent playback singer Dr. S.P. Balasubrahmanyan, and the boxing champion Smt. MC Mary Kom. Also honoured were Smt. Arundhati Bhattacharya, former Chairman of State Bank of India, and Shri V.J. Kurian, IAS (Retd.), Managing Director of Cochin International Airport Ltd.

The awards, given away by Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) Shri Cyriac Joseph, former Judge, Supreme Court of India, carried a cash prize of Rs.3 lakhs and a trophy. Mr. V.P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO, Manappuram Finance Ltd., presided over the function.

Shri. V. P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO, Manappuram Finance Ltd. inaugurated “Rising Stars”, the New Customer Acquisition Campaign for Q2 FY 2018-19, at a function held at the Sarojini Padmanabhan Memorial Auditorium at Manappuram’s Valapad HO. In order to motivate employees and to enhance customer base, it has been decided to conduct a New Customer Campaign during Q2 FY19 (Jul’18 to Sep’18) with bumper incentives like automobile, Motor Cycle and foreign trip to Bangkok for employees in the Branch/Area /Region /Zone (HO) levels.

Dr Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India, received the first V.C. Padmanabhan Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award from Shri. Pranab Mukherjee, former President of India, in a function held at the Constitution Club of India here. Shri P.J. Kurian, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and Shri V.P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO, Manappuram Finance Ltd. were present at the function.
 
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pranab Mukherjee said that the former prime minister had provided stability to India and successfully presided over the country’s finances during troubled times.  In his acceptance speech, Dr. Manmohan Singh spoke about India’s gold consumption and said that a large part of demand for gold is due to lack of financial literacy and gaps in spreading financial inclusion. He also mentioned how a money lending and pawn broking business by its founder V.C. Padmanabhan has now adapted to change and transformed itself into one of India’s leading NBFCs under the leadership of Shri. V.P. Nandakumar.
 
In his welcome speech, Shri V.P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO, Manappuram Finance Ltd. mentioned that while Manappuram had remained a single branch business present only in Valapad under its Founder, Shri V.C. Padmanabhan, his real legacy was the wealth of goodwill he had accumulated among the people of the area, which became the foundation for its rapid growth of later years.
 
The V C Padmanabhan Memorial Awards were instituted in 2010 to commemorate the illustrious founder of the Manappuram Group of companies. They are presented every year to eminent personalities who have made significant contributions in the categories of Arts and Literature, Civil Servant achieving Excellence in Public Administration, Public Representative achieving Excellence in Good Governance, Business Excellence leading to development of Society at large and Ecology and Environment Conservation. A new category “Excellence in Sports and Games” was added in 2018. It is also the first time since inception that an award for Lifetime Achievement was presented.
 
The nominees for the awards were selected by a six member jury, headed by Justice (Retd) M Ramachandran, former Judge, High Court of Kerala.  The other members were Shri. V.P. Nandakumar (MD & CEO, Manappuram Finance Ltd.), Shri. T. Balakrishnan, IAS (Retd.), former MD, INKEL Ltd., Shri. T.M. Manoharan, IFS (Retd.), former Chairman, Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. P.V. Krishnan Nair (former Secretary, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy) and Mr. P.K. Vijayakumar, IRS (Retd.), former Insurance Ombudsman for Kerala & Lakshadweep.
 
Over the years, many eminent people from all walks of life have been recipients of the award. Dr. E. Sreedharan (MD, Delhi Metro) in 2010, Shri. M. Damodaran (former Chairman, SEBI) in 2012, Shri. Vinod Rai (former CAG) in 2013, Shri Amjad Ali Khan and Shri Adoor Gopalakrishnan in 2015, Shri M.T. Vasudevan Nair (2016), Mr. Amitabh Kant IAS (CEO, Niti Aayog) and Mr. Shashi Tharoor (Member of Parliament) in 2017.