Chennai: Global provider of business information Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) and SME Rating Agency of India Ltd., (SMERA), India's first dedicated rating agency for the SME sector, have announced the launch of their publication Emerging Engineering SMEs of India.

The publication which is sixth in a series of publications dedicated to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India promises to be the world's window into India's engineering SME segment. The publication has profiled 331 companies with a turnover of less than Rs100 crore.

The engineering segment is vast, diverse and spread across the country. There are an estimated 117 engineering clusters across the country, located in 19 states. The publication covers companies from over 65 clusters located in 18 states. In terms of regional spread, the Western region dominates with 53.5 per cent of the companies from this region.

The region is entirely represented by two states - Gujarat (41 per cent of total West) and Maharashtra (59 per cent of total West). The other regions include 20.8 per cent from the North, 20.2 per cent from South and 5.4 per cent from the East.

Some highlights of the survey:
Of the companies profiled in the publication, at least 61 per cent of the companies export their products. 28 per cent of these export over 80 per cent of their produce.

Close to 10 per cent of the profiled companies have joint ventures with domestic or international partners. The reason for these collaborations ranges from technical know-how, manufacturing knowledge to marketing arrangements.

In terms of future plans among the companies, 55 per cent companies indicated plans for capacity expansion, 27 per cent for diversification while 12 per cent showed interest in venturing into new markets.

According to Dr. Manoj Vaish, president and CEO, India, Dun & Bradstreet, the engineering sector is the largest industrial segment of the Indian economy, characterised by the presence of a large number of sub-segments.

The engineering sector in India has been growing on the back of growth in the user industries and several new projects being undertaken in various core industries such as railways, power, infrastructure and others. Capacity creation in sectors such as infrastructure, oil and gas, power, mining, automobiles, auto components, steel, refinery, consumer durables and others, is driving growth of the engineering industry. "We expect demand in the engineering sector to remain healthy primarily on account of the government's increased thrust on infrastructure development," he said.

Added Rajesh Dubey, CEO, SMERA, "The future outlook for the engineering sector is promising. Infrastructure development, industrial growth and a favourable policy environment will ensure growth of the industry. Exports of engineering goods from India are expected to accelerate over the next five years as India emerges as a key global manufacturing hub. According to Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC), engineering exports could touch $30 billion by 2008-09."