The Emerging India Series 2004-2005

The Emerging India series was first initiated in 2004-2005. The idea behind this initiative was to provide Small and Medium Enterprises with a definite platform for recognition. This platform was a great success in its first year and proved to be essential in the further growth and development of the SME sector in India thereby increasing their contribution towards the overall economy of our country.

On ground Forums

CNBC TV-18 and ICICI Bank Ltd. joined hands to host this unique initiative where enterprises discussed ways and means to capture opportunities in the present global scenario as well as air their grievances to the government and relevant audiences. Eminent policy makers, representatives of financial institutions involved in the promotion of Small & Medium Enterprises, corporate leaders and academicians met in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmedabad, to discuss how to unleash the diverse opportunities in this sector.

EMERGING INDIA DELHI

The first forum was held in Delhi on 30th June 2004 and explored the great SME Challenge. The theme of the forum was 'Gearing up for Growth.' This forum was slated to voice the concerns of entrepreneurs and suggest measures that would help them make their marks in the global arena. The panelists included Mr. Jayant Dawar - Managing Director, Sandhar Group, Mr. Gautam Nair - Managing Director, Matrix Clothing Pvt. Ltd., Mr. S P Gupta - former planning commission member and an author of an SME report, Ms. Chanda Kochhar - Executive Director, ICICI Bank Ltd. & Mr. Sandeep Mathur, President TIEBU.

EMERGING INDIA – MUMBAI

In keeping with its objective of reaching out and providing opportunity to audiences across the country, CNBC-TV18 hosted the second forum on August 2nd, 2004 in Mumbai. The event was well attended by eminent representatives from the industry. Mr. V. Vaidyanathan - Head Retail Business, ICICI Bank Ltd., Mr. Naishad Parekh - Equinox Brands, was Vice Chairman of CII Western region and on the board of Arvind Mills, Mr. S. R. Vaidya - President, All India Small Drug Manufacturers Association and Vice Chairman, SSI Committee, Mr. Gaurav Nanavati - Chairman, CII (Western Region) and owner of Anup Industries, Mr. Premal Udhani - Vice Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council. These eminent leaders discussed various important issues related to the opportunities and challenges of Small & Medium Enterprises in India, in the fast- changing global marketplace. The topics discussed and deliberated upon included issues of access to credit for traditional industries, managing large labour forces within the existing laws, regulatory issues relevant to traditional SME sectors, the need for subsidies to allow SMEs to take on big international competition, need for access to cheaper services and facilities through institutional support as well as tax breaks on interest earned from lending to SMEs and finally, the much needed incentives for growth.

EMERGING INDIA-CHENNAI

The Chennai forum held on August 25th 2004. This interactive forum drew both applause and flak from the audience comprising of prominent representatives of diverse Small & Medium Enterprises including Mr. Vijay Chandok - Head, Small & Medium Enterprises Group - ICICI Bank Ltd., Mr. Mohan Sreenivas - Managing Director, Orient Express, Mr. G. Ravishankar - CEO, Cris Infac-CRISIL Ltd., Mr. R. Ravi - CEO, Electromags, Mr. K Vishwanathan - Managing Director, RMKV Silks, Mr. M Nagesh - CFO Nekkanti Marine Exports, Hyderabad. Representatives from the leather industry, agriculture and power sector found the Emerging India forum a fitting platform to vent out their specific grievances relevant to the unfavorable labour laws, the need for human resource development, prevalent high tariffs as well as able IT requirements to catch up with global markets. The spotlight was also on the great export and retail potential for SMEs in India. Representatives from auto ancillary, leather exports, marine exports and textiles discussed ways and means to cash in on the great Indian outsourcing boom and the resulting unlimited market opportunities. The forum drew to an end with a consensus that a lot more still had to be done to realize the full potential of SMEs in India.

EMERGING INDIA – BANGALORE

The fourth in the series of the Emerging India Forum, held on 20th September 2004 in Bangalore, reiterated CNBC-TV18's commitment to reach out to all audiences across the country, while providing them with multiple opportunities. The Forum aimed at discussing ways and means to capture opportunities in the present global scenario and also aired grievances of the Small and Medium Enterprises sector to the government and other relevant audiences. The discussions also covered ways and means to help SMEs with access to technology. The event was represented by a host of eminent panelists including: Mr. Asif Khader - CEO, Cranes Software, Mr. Vivek Kulkarni - CEO, b2K and ex-IT Secretary, Karnataka, Mr. Sandip Sen - CEO, Customer First Services, Mr. Sunil Handa - Professor of Entrepreneurship, IIM, Ahmedabad, Mr. Kumar Ashish - DGM, ICICI Bank Ltd. and Ms. Revathi Kasturi, Executive Council Member, NASSCOM. EMERGING INDIA – AHMEDABAD

The Emerging India Forum in Ahmedabad held on the 10th of November 2004. Ahmedabad being the Textile Capital of India, the SMEs face a lot of challenges in this sector. The forum not only talks about the obstacles SME face in the textile sector but also in the Chemical and Pharmaceutical industry. The main aim was to provide valid solutions to the various hurdles faced among the small and medium enterprises. The panelists included Mr. Gautam Shah - Sagar Textiles-Chairman of the Textile Council, CII, Mr. Jaiman Vasa - Vasa Pharma-President, Gujarat Chemicals Association, Mr. Ketan Patel - Troika Pharma, Mr. Verma - Joint Textile Commissioner, Mr. Govind Baldua - President, Indo US Chamber, Mr. Janak Sheth - Managing Director, Century Pharmaceuticals and Mr. Vijay Chandok - Head, Small & Medium Enterprises Group - ICICI Bank Ltd.

On Air Specials

This special on-air series discussed the pressing issues and challenges faced by the small & medium enterprise sector in India. These shows gave a holistic view of the sectors as each show focused on one sector at a time.

AUTOMOBILES & THE LEATHER INDUSRY

The first show covered India's auto component industry, which today is worth around 24000 crore in sales, with small & medium scale enterprises taking away at least 60% of that pie. This segment looked at how small and mid size firms are reducing manufacturing risks, by cashing in on the Indian outsourcing phenomenon rather than depending on Indian domestic automakers. Mr. R. Ravi - MD, Electromags, and Mr. Lingaraju - IBM expressed how today even small units were up-scaling manufacturing and upgrading technology to service international clients directly. Next on the segment was a focus on India's bustling leather industry, located in the heart of Asia's largest slums, and how companies were refining manufacturing and upgrading technology to compete with international competition. Also covered in this segment were the challenges that were faced by the bicycle, pharma and plastic industry due to minimum government support, fragmentation and obsolete technology.

IT AND BANKING

The second show focused on the difficulties that SMEs today experience while borrowing money from banks and other financial institutions and how difficult it is for these small and mid size units to provide collaterals and securities. It also highlighted the new exchange that the government has planned for these entrepreneurs on the lines of the OTCEI. The segment also covered the challenges that small and mid size Tech and IT firms faced in terms of attracting global clients and retaining the right talent, particularly when compared to the ESOPs that companies like Wipro and Infosys dished out to their employees. CLUSTERS

The third and final show featured the importance of cluster formations by the SMEs as a platform to share information and get greater bargaining power to pitch for larger clients. It featured Harish Mariwala - Chairman and MD, Marico Industries on the challenges that Marico faced as a small trading business in Mumbai to India's fastest growing FMCG Company.

The Emerging India Awards 2005

The Emerging India initiative culminated into an award ceremony, celebrating the undying entrepreneurial spirit of our country. Small & Medium Enterprises that had taken tremendous strides towards growth were honoured with the Emerging India Awards that aimed at recognizing the best sustainable Value Creators among SMEs in the country. Indian SMEs with a net worth of a maximum of Rs. 50 crore, were eligible for entry to the 'Emerging India Awards'. The initiative received an overwhelming response from over 5000 SMEs, from all parts of the country and from 9 different sectors. Entry forms were made available through all ICICI Bank branches. CRISIL - India's premier credit rating agency designed and executed the evaluation process for the 'Emerging India Awards'

The Winners

The winners in the different categories are as follows:-

Auto - Ancillaries & Engineering:

Organisation name: Indo Schottle Auto Parts Pvt. Ltd Name: Rohan Pusalkar Designation: Executive Director

Commodities and Others

Organisation name: Transasia Bio Medicals Ltd. Name: Mala Vazirani Designation: Director

FMCG & Agri Business

Organisation name: Linc Pen and Plastic Ltd. Name: Deepak Jalan Designation: Chairman and Managing Director. Gem and Jewellery

Organisation name: Shreeji Jewellery Ltd. Name: Pravin Shah Designation: Managing Director

ICE & IteS

Organisation name: Educomp Datamatics Ltd. Name: Shantanu Prakash Designation: Director

Infrastructure

Organisation name: Ocean Sparkle Ltd. Name: P. Jairaj Kumar Designation: Chairman and Managing Director.

Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals

Organisation name: Dorf Ketal Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Name: Sudhir Menon Designation: Chairman and Managing Director.

Retail Trade

Organisation name: Shankara Pipes India Pvt. Ltd. Name: Sukumar Sriniwas Designation: Managing Director

Textile and Apparel

Organisation name: Kewal Kiran Group Name: Kevalchand Jain Designation: Managing Director The Winners Position Today

The Emerging India Awards 2005 felicitated some of the most deserving enterprises in the SME sector. After 3 years CNBC TV-18 gives an update on their performance over these years and new developments in their enterprises.

Indo Schottle Auto Parts Pvt. Ltd It is India’s largest manufacturer of Engine Valve Collects, Rocker Arm Screws, Turbocharger components and assemblies and Fuel System Parts. Indo Schottle has a history of providing precision machines parts to the worlds most demanding customers. They are a preferred supplier to the automotive and turbocharger industry because they inherently understand the underlying engineering principles necessary to build precision engineering components. Indo Schottle has state of the art equipment and highly skilled teams who truly understand the meaning of world class. Currently the company supplies 400 million parts to its valued OEM customers. Ever since The Emerging India Awards, Indo Schottle was felicitated with Holset best supplier Award in the category, Partnering for growth 2005, Indo-German Award for Outstanding Export Performance, ACMA quality and productivity award and ACMA export award. These achievements over the period of last two years truly exhibit Indo Schottles performance.

Transasia Bio Medicals Ltd Transasia designs, manufactures and offers global competitive health care products and services to serve society and mankind through sustained profitability and growth. They have been a leader in the field of Clinical Diagnostic and Reagents for the last 19 years. In the past couple of years Transasia has become huge exporters of world class equipments to around 30 countries, like Germany, China, Korea, Australia, Greece, Taiwan, Netherlands, Turkey and USA etc. It is the only Indian Diagnostic Company to achieve ISO 9002 Certification. Inspite of severe competition in the past few years, from multinationals like Bayer, E-Merck, Coulter, etc, Transasia has proved itself to be a market leader in India.

Linc Pen and Plastic Ltd. Linc Pen is engaged in manufacturing writing instruments such as pens and refills. The company has a wide product portfolio with more than 50 product categories. The company is listed in the BSE and the Kolkata stock exchanges. The company aims to become no.2 in the writing equipments manufacturers industry by next two years from its current position of no.4. The company has already established its presence in more than 30 countries, while overseas buyers include names such as Wal-Mart, Steadtler, Liquimark and Poundland. LPPL was incorporated as a limited company in 1994 with a paid-up capital of Rs 6 crore. The capital has since expanded to Rs.8 crore. It has four factories, two each in Kolkata and Goa. Shreeji Jewellery Ltd. Established in the year 1996, the company is engaged in the manufacture and exports of diamond/precious stone studded gold/ platinum jewellery. The company has grown over the past 3 years and has made its mark in the industry of jewellery and gems. It has not only made its mark in the country’s jewellery market but also has penetrated in the US markets, thereby in the forerun to make a global mark. Its main market is in the west, which caters to the market segment of low end and medium end jewellery. Shreeji has observed a comfortable growth rate at the start of its business, but today they are undergoing a multiple growth rate. Shreeji plans to diversify into the European and Middle East markets and also enter the high-end jewellery and better end products. With all these measures, the company anticipates a turnover of over 300 crores in the coming years.

Educomp Datamatics Ltd. Educomp Solutions Ltd. as it is known today was incorporated in 1994 and has grown as the largest technology driven innovative education company in India. It employees more than 800 professionals and has a presence in 27 locations across the country, in USA and Singapore. Educomp is an e-learning enabler and specializes in the creation of learning content, management of learning and the delivery of learning. Ever since Educomp was rewarded with The Emerging India Award 2005, the company has seen tremendous growth and success. Business Today named Educomp in its BT500 list of India’s most valuable companies. The company this year launched an exciting new initiative in online learning in the form of mathguru.com, an innovative math help program designed to help students solve every single math problem. In the past 2 years, Educomp has been a leader in revolutionizing learning in Indian Classrooms.

Ocean Sparkle Ltd. It engages itself in comprehensive port operation and management services, and ship-to- ship operations. Promoted by technocrats with marine engineering background, provides various services including harbour towage, pilot age, fire fighting, ship traffic communication, cargo lighter age and coastal transport. It owns and managed one of India’s largest fleet of harbour vessels, including 28 tugs and 17 other vessels. The company has shown an increase in its revenue in the past 2 years. Ocean Sparkle’s revenue touched the 75 crore mark this year as compared to revenues of about 40 crores 2 years back. This shows that the company has grown to perform better ever since its victory in The Emerging India Awards 2005.

Dorf Ketal Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. In a relatively brief span of 12 years, Dorf Ketal has emerged as the largest Indian manufacturer of research based specialty chemicals used in treatment of refineries, petrochemical plants and ancillary units. Since The Emerging India Awards 2005, Dorf Ketal has been on a steady rise and has been felicitated with a couple of prestigious awards like the Frost and Sullivan Award 2005 and Best Supplier Award 2005 from Brazil, showing their growth globally as well. Shankara Pipes India Pvt. Ltd. The Shankara Group is amongst India’s premier and largest distributors of a wide range of steel tubes and pipes. A Rs. 4500 million (US$ 100 million), ISO 9001 Company, with a legacy of 25 years of impeccable service to its customers, its operations span South and West India. Quality is the watchword at Shankara. All its products are standard ISI products and all its principals are ISO companies. In the last 2 years, Shankara pipes have made a name in the industry and have been rewarded The Best Distributor Award from Tata Steel in the year 2005-06. The company has also been the Highest Tonnage achiever in All India Basis for the past 10 years from Tube Investment of India.

Kewal Kiran Group Incorporated in 1981, Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited today is amongst the few large branded apparel manufacturers in India. The company with sales in Asia, Middle East and CIS designs, manufactures and markets branded jeans, Semi-formal and casual wear for men. The company began as a manufacturer of men’s wear for reputed brands. The company is exposed to global standards in quality, technology, marketing and branding. In 1989, the company introduced “Killer“ the first international denim brand created in India. Today "Killer" is one of the most successful and widely recognized brands in the Indian apparel industry. Innovation has been the hallmark of Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited A marriage of design and technology, the company has constantly introduced new fits, finishes and fabrics. Last year Kewal Kiran was rewarded with the Golden Scale Trophy by CMAI for Casual Wear Brand of the Year.