Dun & Bradstreet India is pleased to present the 2007 edition of its premium publication ‘India’s Top 500 Companies’. This issue marks another milestone in a successful innings of providing a ready reckoner comprising valuable insights on India’s top companies.

The 2007 edition continues the customary approach of profiling India’s Top 500 Companies. Companies are ranked on the basis of various criteria including Total Income, Net Pro?t, Market Capitalisation and Net Worth. This edition has two added features – financial comparison of companies classified under different sectors and ‘Insights’, based upon an analyses of the financial data pertaining to these companies. We are sure that both these additions will help readers comprehend and understand these top companies in greater depth.

2007 was a year of accolades and challenges. With India being the fifth largest economy in the world in terms of PPP, contributing to over 4% of the world GDP, the economy seems to be acquiring the propulsion necessary for a take-off. The open economy challenges – in form of the risks of a US slow down, the rising interest rate differential, huge capital inflows, an appreciating rupee – did lead to a slight dampening in the manufacturing sector and a decline in export earnings, thus causing a downward revision in the growth estimates for FY08 to 8.9%. However, domestic savings are on a rise and the investment cycle continues to remain strong, endorsing the economic resilience.

Given that India has been better cushioned against external shocks, vis-à-vis its Asian counterparts, and the vigilance exercised by policy makers to adapt to the global economic dynamics and promote higher degrees of integration with the world economy, the macroeconomic fundamentals would remain strong, facilitating higher advances. The country’s demographics pose both a challenge and an opportunity, in terms of matching the existing talents as well as creating higher skills to match with the emerging prospects. Buoyed by the robustness, Indian corporates are rising to the challenge and have made significant head-way into the global corporate arena, as is evident from the number of cross-border M&A and private equity deals that have materialized in course of the year.

The 2007 edition of ‘India’s Top 500 Companies’ has pro?led the pre-eminent companies of corporate India that have emerged as leaders in their respective sectors. The listed companies pro?led in the publication account for over 87.5% of BSE’s market capitalisation and the total income of all 500 companies equivalent to 46.8% of India’s GDP.

I hope you enjoy reading this issue of ‘India’s Top 500 Companies’ and I look forward to your suggestions.

Dr Manoj Vaish
President & CEO - India
Dun & Bradstreet