Bangalore: Software major Infosys chairman and chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy was conferred the coveted Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for 2002 at a glittering function attended by corporate bigwigs and top executives in Bangalore on October 10 night.

Murthy would represent India at the Ernst and Young's World Entrepreneur of the Year Award ceremony at Monte Carlo in June 2003, it was announced at the function, where he was cheered and hailed as an icon for the new generation of Indian entrepreneurs.

He will also attend the Ernst and Young Enterpreneur of the Year International Conference at Palm Springs, California, from November 21 to 24 this year.

Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister R V Deshpande and former Union Law Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Arun Jaitley presented the award to Murthy, who described it as a "big gift" that must have been shared by seven other co-founders of Infosys and its employees.

"It (the award) is an affirmation of my belief that I have received much more from society than I have given to the society," he said.

Now in its fourth year in India, the award was judged by a panel of jury chaired by Rahul Bajaj, chairman and managing director of Bajaj Auto Limited, which had short listed a panel of 19 finalists representing the best entrepreneurial talents in India.

PTI