1. The conduct of all to whom The Code applies shall be conducive to the business success of Hawkins in the long term.

2. The long term business success of Hawkins requires considerate and ethical treatment of customers, suppliers, employees, governmental and regulatory authorities and shareholders. All to whom The Code applies shall always act in accordance with this requirement.

3. The prime importance given to long term business success does not mean that we can ignore the requirement for timely action. All to whom The Code applies must so manage their work that the immediate, medium and long term goals of the business are well served.

4. The separate entity, property and interest of Hawkins as distinct from the entity, property and interest of those to whom The Code applies has to be recognised and respected. In case of any conflict of interest, all those to whom The Code applies must act to protect the interest of Hawkins. In case of any doubt, the matter must be referred up the chain of command.

5. In case anyone to whom The Code applies perceives a problem of conflict of interest or ethics in his superior or in anyone else to whom The Code applies, he is required to report the facts which form the basis of his apprehension to his superior's superior (if the superior is the object of suspicion) or, in other cases, to his superior.

6. All those to whom The Code applies must ensure that all operations under their charge in or of Hawkins are in compliance with the law.

7. The financial, physical and intellectual property of Hawkins must be protected suitably at all times and only used with proper authority in the interest of Hawkins.

8. Confidentiality of the know-how, processes and operations of Hawkins must be maintained and all due diligence exercised to ensure that there is no inadvertent or deliberate breach of the requirement of confidentiality. The requirement of confidentiality applies to all documents on paper or in an electronic form that are labelled as such, all drawings, diagrams, process charts and the like in any form whatsoever, all conversations or discussions the content of which may assist existing or potential competitors or tend to bring Hawkins into disrepute, provided that any disclosure required by law shall not be regarded as a breach of this requirement.

9. All relevant aspects of a recommendation or decision have to be thought through before the recommendation or the decision is taken. Past precedent, available data and future effects have to be considered. The degree of detail to which any matter is looked into has to be appropriate to the subject and its potential for future good or harm to the company.

10. The requirement for thoughtful decisions does not excuse inordinate delay. The manager has either to give a decision on the spot or to indicate a reasonable period of time in which the decision will be given and then keep to that commitment. The manager has to either take a decision himself or to refer it upwards with sufficient data on which a decision may be taken with a clear recommendation.

11. The manager has not merely to respond to instructions but also to take action on his own initiative in the company's interest. Policies and procedures are to be followed but not unthinkingly. The manager has to continually be on the look out for possible improvements. Changes have to be implemented after consultation with all concerned in Hawkins. Unresolved conflicts of opinion have to be referred up the organisation for determination at the appropriate level.

12. Meticulous planning, briefing, coordination and monitoring are required to ensure the implementation of decisions which is the prime responsibility of the head of the function. The head must know when and with whom to put instructions in writing and when and with whom to rely on oral instructions, understanding that his responsibility for implementation is undiluted in either case.

13. It is a business requirement and the desired managerial culture in Hawkins that managers at all levels are encouraged to speak their minds freely without fear or favour on all issues concerning the business and in the interest of Hawkins. Toadyism, currying favour, office politics and groupism are to be eschewed and discouraged. The continuing search for better ways of working, the exercise of initiative, responsiveness to internal clients and external customers, mutual cooperation and teamwork are to be adopted and encouraged, always provided that all such efforts are in the interest of Hawkins.

14. The free expression of opinion and the exercise of initiative has to coexist with and be subject to the requirements of managerial discipline. Once decisions are taken at the appropriate level after full and free discussion of the issues involved, the decisions have to be implemented faithfully and vigorously regardless of anyone's individual opinion in the matter. At the same time, the decision makers have to be kept suitably informed of the results of the implementation so that corrective action may be taken if any is required.

15. Managers are expected to act within the levels of authority delegated to them and to refer upwards matters which exceed their authority. In exceptional circumstances, however, managers may act beyond their level of authority if in their opinion the delay caused by a reference upwards would significantly prejudice the interest of Hawkins, provided the manager informs his superior as soon as possible about the action taken by him/her and the circumstances that necessitated the immediate action. Thereafter, the immediate action taken and the circumstances that purportedly compelled it would be reviewed at an appropriate level and the manager would be advised suitably.

16. The development of subordinates is a corporate requirement. A fair and firm approach is required. Subordinates have to be developed by example, by controlled exposure to greater responsibility, by challenging of their faculties in on-the-job discussion and training programmes and by appraisals and counselling.

17. Record management is an important requirement of corporate governance. Records have to be maintained securely for the legally or otherwise required periods or, in some cases, in perpetuity. After the required period for any record is over, it has to be destroyed to conserve storage space and to facilitate access to records. It is the responsibility of all to whom The Code applies to formulate a policy for record management for matters under their charge and to ensure its implementation after the approval of the policy at the appropriate level.

18. It is the responsibility of all executive directors and senior managers to ensure that all other managers and employees of Hawkins under their charge act appropriately in accordance with the principles of The Code.