As many as 18 companies from India have been listed by Forbes magazine among 200 successful companies outside the United States with annual sales of under $1 billion. The list ranges from software to entertainment, including Wipro, Infosys and Zee Telefilms.

Taking note of the Indian entrepreneurship in the tight world market, Forbes pointed out that the number of Indian companies has gone up to 18 this yar from last year's 13 and 10 a year earlier. On this year's list are four software innovators - Wipro, Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computers and Rolta India; four Pharmaceutical companies - Dr Reddy's Labs, IPCA Laboratories, Nicholas Piramal and Sun Pharmaceutical; three banks - Corporation Bank, HDFC bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce and two firms from the packaging industry - Cosmo films and Essel Propack. Asian Paints, Bharat Forge (metal fabricators), Graphite India and Indo Gulf (fertilisers) also find place in the coveted list. The Indian contingent, Forbes wrote covers a broad industrial range from software and entertainment industries to widget-makers like Bharat Forge, Essel Propack and Graphite India. The 200 successful companies were drawn from among 19,000 publicly traded concerns with annual sales below $1 billion.

(taken from Agency reports. Washington, October 24 2003)