New Delhi: Idea Cellular, India’s leading mobile services provider, has bagged the prestigious Golden Peacock Award for the most innovative product and service for its M-Coupon service.

The Golden Peacock Awards have been established by the Institute of Directors to be given to companies demonstrating sustainable excellence and innovation in both manufacturing and service sectors leading to improved performance. Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma presented the award to Himanshu Kapania, chief operating officer, Delhi circle, Idea Cellular, at a glittering awards function in Mumbai.

Speaking on the occasion, Kapania said: “We are delighted to receive this significant recognition from the Institute of Directors for our contribution to provide unique value-added services such as M-Coupon to our subscribers. This will encourage us to offer more such innovative products and services in near future.

“Our M-Coupon service is indeed one of its kind and has received an unbelievable response in our Delhi circle. Since the launch of the service, over 10,000 subscribers purchased goods worth Rs 80 lakh in just two months using M-Coupons. At Idea, our goal is to constantly innovate our products and services. This award will further encourage our efforts to continuously innovate our services and change the way our subscribers live, work and play.”

The jury for the Golden Peacock National Awards included eminent personalities like Dr Najma Heptullah (deputy chairperson, Rajya Sabha), Justice A M Ahmadi (former chief justice of India), A K Khosla (chairman, GEC), Rakesh Bharti Mittal (managing director, Bharti Enterprises) and N Vittal (central vigilance commissioner).

Idea Cellular, formerly Birla Tata AT&T Ltd, is India’s premier and fastest growing cellular company, promoted by the country’s largest business houses — the Aditya Birla group and the Tata Group — and the world’s largest telecom giant — AT&T Wireless, USA.

Idea has a footprint in the six Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai) and Delhi. The company recently created history when it became the first mobile telephony company in India to notch up 100,000 subscribers within just 30 days of its launch of services in Delhi.