New Delhi, October 27, 2004:

Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Apollo Hospitals Group and the company behind 'The Apollo Clinics' has been honoured with the Franchisor of the Year 2004' - second Award in 2 years, this highlights its leading role as a model franchisor across industries and various products/ services categories. Also reinforces its credentials as a pioneer in franchising in the healthcare sector. The Franchise Awards were organized by Franchise India Holdings Ltd., publisher of Franchising World, and a leading services provider in the franchising industry.

Announcing this, Mr. Gaurav Marya, President of Franchise India Holdings Limited, said: "The Franchise Awards 2004 is franchising's most valuable awards show and recognizes excellence in performance in franchising. These awards give an ideal platform to companies to further establish the brand as one of the leading and benchmarking the organizations against the best in India." The two-day seminar and exhibition held in Delhi, which was attended by top corporates in India, has addressed core issues concerning franchising and enlighten the investors and professionals about various aspects of franchising, licensing and business development. "We are delighted to see the overwhelming response from the investors," Mr. Tony White, Partner of Franchise India Holdings Limited and Managing Director of Quantum Plus Tradelinks Pvt. Ltd., said.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Ratan Jalan said, "Winning the Franchisor of the Year Award for the second time in a row is indeed a great achievement. We will continue to work towards delivery of superior quality services across The Apollo Clinic network. The award reinforces the quality and reliability that is synonymous with the Apollo name. It truly gives me a deep sense of satisfaction to see that we have been able to make a substantial difference to the healthcare segment in India and shall shortly be doing so, abroad".

The Franchise Awards, held for the second time in India, are a certificate of excellence in franchising and will play a very important role in franchise sales. These awards were given away as part of FranchiseIndia2004 at Hotel Ashoka in New Delhi. FranchiseIndia 2004 brought together International experts, leading franchisors and potential investors under one roof, with the objective of highlighting the efforts of organizations & individuals that have played an important role in the field of franchising in India.

The Awards were well received by the industry and saw participation from all leading franchisers and franchisees across various industries in the country.

The panel of judges for the Franchise Awards 2004 included renowned names from the franchise world like Mr. Brian Duckett, Honorary Chairman, Franchise Awards'04 Consultative Committee, who is the Managing Director of Horwath Franchising, U.K. and a member of Horwath Franchise Services Group in association with Eversheds, which is the world's largest network of franchise consultants, accountants and lawyers, Mr. Gaurav Marya, Co-Chairman of Franchise Awards'04 Consultative Committee, Mr. John B. Foreman, Chairman of Foreman & Co., New Zealand and Mr. Tony White, Managing Director of Quantum Plus Tradelinks Pvt. Ltd., India.