MUMBAI:ICICI Bank and CNBC–TV 18 Emerging India Awards-2007 has created history by attracting over 1 lakh nominations from across the country - a record 185 per cent increase over last year. The award that was created to develop and boost the SME sector in the country had attracted over 35,000 entries received for this initiative last year.

The Emerging India Awards 2007 felicitation ceremony of the winning SMEs is scheduled for 22nd June 2007 in Mumbai where the Honorable Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will felicitate the winners.

Emerging India Awards, India’s foremost initiative powered by the capability of shaping the future of Indian SMEs, has been acknowledged as India’s biggest business award by the Limca Book of Records. This year the maximum numbers of entries received by this initiative are from Maharashtra followed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal.

Recognizing the potential offered by small and medium-sized enterprises to the country’s economy, the central and various state governments have undertaken multiple initiatives to encourage entrepreneurs. The ‘Emerging India Awards’ go a long way in promoting and encouraging SMEs in India by recognizing the efforts of entrepreneurs at the event. The increase in entries only reflects the popularity of the initiative which recognizes the most sustainable value creators among SMEs.

Mr. K V Kamath, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank said “ India is currently witnessing a phase of high growth that has been driven by a buoyant industrial sector and knowledge sectors. Indian companies have started implementing measures to meet the rising needs of a growing economy. The Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) segment is an important engine of future economic growth. However, to successfully capture this opportunity, it is important for SMEs to constantly focus on improving business practices and modernizing their processes.

ICICI Bank is proud to partner the SMEs as they embark upon the mission to promote India’s economic growth. We had instituted these awards in 2004 in partnership with CNBC TV18 to promote innovation and best practices amongst SMEs to enable them move up the value chain. We are happy to note the enthusiastic response this event has received.”

Mr. Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, TV 18 said “The number of entries that we have received this year is a clear indicator of the fact that SMEs are acknowledging the initiative that we have undertaken along with ICICI Bank. In its third year since inception have we received an overwhelming response of over 1 lakh entries, clearly stating the SME potential in India that this initiative has tapped into.”

He further added “The greater regional spread of SMEs makes it an attractive option for industrial growth hence they are considered the next growth drivers of the Indian economy. The present government is also very keen to further strengthen the SME sector in India and acknowledges their efforts. The Emerging India Awards is an attempt to help the SME sector across the country to gear up for technological modernization, better systems, access to finance and even tougher competition.”

Mr Ravimohan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CRISIL Ltd said, “The response to the Emerging India awards has been truly overwhelming, CRISIL's deep sectoral expertise and an intimate understanding of the SME sector will help us in recognizing the real winners amongst today's emerging entrepreneurs”

The Emerging India Awards offers its winners a platform which helps bring scalability to their business by opening new avenues, expanding the customer base and getting them industry recognition. An accreditation from the country’s fastest growing media house - TV 18 group and the India’s second largest bank and largest private sector bank- ICICI Bank helps SMEs in India secure confidence from the financial institutions in them for raising capital for their expansion plans. This initiative also helps encourage new entrepreneurs to venture the market and creating an oligopolistic market.CRISIL India ’s premier credit rating agency powers the evaluation of the Emerging India Awards, identifying the most deserving SMEs in different categories.

The nominations were received in following categories:

1. Auto, Ancillaries and Engineering

2. Pharma & Chemicals

3. FMCG, Food & Agri-Business

4. Gems & Jewellery

5. Textiles & Apparel

6. Information Technology, Communications and Entertainment (ICE) & IT enabled Services (ITeS)

7. Infrastructure

8. Travel & Tourism

9. Retail Trade

10. Commodity Traders and Others

The Emerging India award follows a three stage evaluation process first is inviting the small and medium enterprises across the nations to apply for the awards followed by short-listing for nominees. The second stage focuses on evaluating sustainability of value creation for key stakeholders and involved an in depth study of the business models, competitive strength, management quality and depth. The third stage is a jury round where the top contenders from each category are finalized. The panel of jury members consist of industry experts, thought leaders and influencers along with CRISIL selected most outstanding of India’s entrepreneurs.