SME Awards 2008 is Dun and Bradstreet’s recognition of emerging SMEs across ten sectors viz., auto components; chemicals and petrochemicals; engineering goods; food and agro products (including horticulture and floriculture); gems and jewellery; IT and ITeS; leather and leather products; pharmaceuticals; plastics (including goods and processing); and textiles. The awards, in conjunction with the publication Emerging SMEs of India 2008, highlight the achievements of leading SMEs in their respective sectors.

Since these awards seek to recognise the growth of SMEs, the short-listing criterion chosen was net turnover of the companies. Further, the annual net turnover for manufacturing companies was fixed to less than Rs 1,000 mn and that for services for less than Rs 100 mn for FY07.

Based on the annual net turnover, each sector has been further sub-divided into small and medium categories. The small category pertains to manufacturing companies with net turnover below Rs 500 mn while the medium category refers to companies with net turnover in the range of 500.01 – 1,000 mn. For the IT-ITeS sector, the small category stands for net turnover below Rs 50 mn while those in the range of Rs 50.01 – 100 mn are categorised in the medium category. The awards were based on self nomination. Awards winners were chosen in individual revenue categories of each sector. Additionally, one emerging award winner was chosen across all the ten sectors.

To invite nomination across various categories, questionnaire mailers were sent out to a large universe of companies. The database of companies was compiled from various sources, including the internal D&B database, companies which had previously participated in D&B’s SME publication and various industry associations. Additionally, mass media channels such as advertisements in leading business news dailies were used to invite participation in the awards and the subsequent publication. Every effort was made to ensure that companies respond to the questionnaire. In the eventuality that a company has not responded with critical data, such companies have not been considered for awards. This is to ensure that a standard set of parameters were used to filter the eligible companies and that the information contained in this publication is verified and authenticated.

For the purpose of the awards, the initial set of responses were screened to exclude companies whose net turnover exceeded the revenue criteria set by D&B, or those that had provided incomplete questionnaires lacking critical information, or were financially sick companies that come under purview of the BIFR or companies with governance issues. Further, in cases where a company chose to represent itself in more than two sectors, D&B chose the sector based on the company’s product lines and other related parameters.

A proprietary financial model (based upon the financial data provided by companies) was used to arrive at the award winners in the two turnover categories for each sector. The five financial parameters used for identifying winners were net turnover, net profit, growth in net turnover, growth in net profit and net profit margin for FY07. The final score was calculated as a weighted sum of these scores.

This publication, Emerging SMEs of India 2008, profiles the award winners and runners up under the two turnover categories for each sector. Additionally, it lists those companies that responded with adequate information on various operational parameters. It also includes companies that were a part of the nomination process and chose to be featured as an advertorial. Through this, all participating and eligible companies have been provided coverage in this publication.

A standardised format has been used for reporting the information on the companies. Each company featured in the publication has been allotted its unique identification number (D-U-N-S ® - Data Universal Numbering System). This will help readers locate and obtain full-fledged information reports on these companies from the Dun & Bradstreet database.

The editorial team is confident that SME Awards 2008 and Emerging SMEs of India 2008 will encourage other emerging SMEs to showcase their contribution by active participation in future editions. We would be pleased to receive your invaluable feedback and suggestions, which we can incorporate in the next edition. Your satisfaction remains our goal in Dun & Bradstreet’s journey towards excellence.