New Delhi, May 7 (IANS): Prominent women of India, including Barkha Dutt, Vandana Luthra, Renu Sud Karnad and Swati Piramal, were Thursday awarded for their achievements and the roles they played in their respective sectors.

The women were conferred with Women in Leadership (WIL) India Awards in various categories here Thursday evening.

The panel of judges included Kiran Bedi, Grant Thornton's Pallavi Joshi Bakhru, and Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, the founder of 20-first.com.

NDTV's Barkha Dutt received the award for her achievements as a media personality; Leena Nair, Hindustan Unilever's executive director and vice-president-HR, for the role she played in working with women to understand their career needs; Britannia managing director Vinita Bali for her excellence and contributions towards the growth of her company; and Piramal Life Sciences' vice chairperson Swati Piramal for her innovation.

Housing Development Finance Corp's managing director Renu Sud Karnad was honoured as 'Leading Woman in Financial Sector' and VLCC's founder Vandana Luthra bagged the 'Leading Indian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year' award at the WIL India Forum, which will conclude Friday.

IT company Cisco received the award in 'Most Women-Friendly Employer' category and the Lila Poonawalla Foundation bagged 'Woman Initiative of the Year' trophy.

Ela R. Bhatt, the founder of the self-employed women's association, took 'Woman Leader in Public Sector' award for her exceptional performance in encouraging self-employment and in developing women in the community.