Dun and Bradstreet India (D&B India) is pleased to launch the D&B – ECGC Indian Exporters’ Excellence Awards, brought to you in a strategic association with Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Limited (ECGC). The awards, in conjunction with the publication India’s Leading Exporters, are aimed at felicitating leading exporters across 10 sectors. Apart from documenting the individual success stories, the publication is an endeavour to provide a platform for exporters across the country and underscore some of their key achievements, thus highlighting their role in the economy.

India has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, having clocked an average GDP growth rate of around 9% over the past two years. India’s merchandise exports grew at a CAGR of 24.9% during FY04-08, much higher than global merchandise export growth rate of 16.1% in the same period. The Government of India has continuously emphasised the role of exports in order to achieve a sustained rate of growth; it plans to raise India’s merchandise exports to US$ 200 billion in FY09 from US$ 155.5 billion in FY08, which would imply a y-o-y growth of over 28%.

The Foreign Trade Policy of 2004-2009 pays special emphasis on export promotional measures such as Assistance to States for Infrastructure Development of Exports (ASIDE), Market Access Initiative (MAI) and Marketing Development Assistance (MDA). To boost India’s share in global exports through encouraging entrepreneurs, schemes such as Electronic Hardware Technology Park (EHTP) Scheme, Bio-Technology Park (BTP) Free Trade & Warehousing Zones (FTWZ) have been promulgated.

In the last couple of years, export markets have seen several structural changes. With increasing levels of integration across the international economy, the scope of expansion has increased. At the same time it has led to greater competition, both at the national as well as international levels. India has emerged as a hub for engineering goods & IT services and Indian exporters have gained a foothold in the global market. Challenges such as rupee appreciation, short term export curbs and rising quality standards require exporters to reorient their growth strategies. Indian exporters are striving to look beyond traditional export markets. India is also actively involved in a number of free trade agreements. The coming years will be crucial in determining and consolidating India’s position as a supplier to the world market.

D&B has drawn on its expertise in providing validated business research to pay tribute to the emerging exporters through Indian Exporters’ Excellence Awards. I would like to thank ECGC for their consistent support in this exercise. I am sure you will find this edition of India’s Leading Exporters useful and I look forward to your suggestions.

Dr Manoj Vaish
President & CEO - India
Dun & Bradstreet