Dun & Bradstreet India (D&B India) reinforces its commitment towards servicing small and medium enterprises through the launch of its Emerging SMEs: Kolkata 2008, which is the sixth publication in this cluster-based series - the first five being dedicated to Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, NCR and Hyderabad which were successfully launched earlier in the year.

India has emerged as one of the fast growing economies in the world, having recorded an annual average growth rate of 8% during 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 necessary, which needs to be supported by the SME segment. SMEs play a significant role in the development of the economy and also ensure regional balance. The sector accounts for more than 80% of the industrial units in India; contributes approximately 40% of the domestic industrial production and about 45% of the country’s industrial employment.

The SME segment has drawn the attention of several government institutions, corporate bodies and banks, and is perceived as an agent of economic transformation and growth. However, there is a dearth of structured and reliable information on India’s SME sector. A sincere attempt to fulfill this lacuna was the fundamental rationale behind conceptualisation of the cluster-based publication. This reference document is also intended to provide a platform to enhance the visibility of these important constituents of India’s growth story.

The current publication, Emerging SMEs: Kolkata 2008 attempts to highlight the advantages of knowledge, skills, low costs, superior quality and demand, that are associated with the engineering, food processing, IT & ITeS-BPO and textile sectors in India. The Indian engineering industry witnessed a growth of 33% in FY07. Exports of processed fruits and vegetables from India touched Rs 25 bn in FY07. In FY07, the IT & ITeS-BPO industry witnessed a strong growth in export revenue to reach US$ 31.3 bn, and revenue of the industry as whole stood at US$ 47.8 bn. Textile exports account for 16.6% of the India’s total export earnings. The contribution of the SMEs to these four sectors, especially by adopting the cluster model, is well recognised.

Emerging SMEs: Kolkata 2008 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: Kolkata 2008 and look forward to receiving your suggestions.

Dr Manoj Vaish
President & CEO - India
Dun & Bradstreet