Dun & Bradstreet India (D&B India) has reinforced its commitment towards servicing small and medium enterprises through the launch of its cluster-based publication series, Emerging SMEs. Emerging SMEs: Chennai 2008 is the third publication in this sector-based series, after the successful launch of Emerging SMEs: Pune 2008. In this geographical-area based series, our future editions would cover three other important regions - NCR, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

India has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, having recorded an annual growth of more than 8% over the last four years. The Government recognises that in order to sustain its current economic progress, broad based robust growth in industrial and services sector is required, which needs to be supported by the SME segment. SMEs play a vital role in the development of the economy and also ensure regional balance in economic development. SMEs account for more than 80% of the industrial units in India; contribute approximately 40% to the domestic industrial production and about 45% of India’s industrial employment.

The SME segment is the subject of intense focus from several government institutions, corporate bodies and banks, and is rightly viewed as an agent of economic transformation and growth. However, there is a lack of structured and reliable information on India’s SME sector. A sincere attempt to fulfill this lacuna was the fundamental rationale behind the cluster-based publication series. This one-point reference document will provide a platform to enhance the visibility of these important constituents of the Indian growth story.

The current publication, Emerging SMEs: Chennai 2008 attempts to reflect the knowledge, skills, low costs, superior quality and demand associated with the auto components, engineering, IT & ITeS-BPO and leather product sectors. The turnover of the Indian auto component industry has increased from US$ 12 billion in FY06 to US$ 15 billion in FY07. The Indian engineering industry has shown a growth of 33% in FY07 as compared to the previous year. Leather exports recorded a growth of 8.7% in FY07. In FY07, the IT & ITeS-BPO industry witnessed a strong growth in export revenue to reach US$ 31.3 billion, out of the total industry revenue of US$ 47.8 billion. The contribution of the SMEs to these four sectors, especially by adopting the cluster model, is well recognised.

The SME publication preserves the D&B lineage of providing information and knowledge that facilitate informed business decisions. D&B has drawn on its time-tested expertise in business information to the benefit of the small and medium companies, as this publication amply reflects.

I hope you will enjoy reading Emerging SMEs: Chennai 2008 and look forward to receiving your suggestions.

Dr Manoj Vaish
President & CEO - India
Dun & Bradstreet