Asian Paints is positioned to benefit from the housing construction boom in the country. The company has presence in both Decorative and Industrial Coating segment of the Paint business. Both this segment constitutes 92% of the topline of APIL. In Industrial coating segment which comprises Automotive Coating, powder coating and protective coating, APIL serves/operates directly in the protective coating and have presence in other two sub-segments i.e. Automotive Coating and Powder coating through Asian PPG Inds(a JV Co. with PPG of US) and Asian Paints Industrial Coatings Ltd(a 100% subsidiary of APIL). APIL's product range includes Wall paints, Metal paints, Wood Finishes, Primers and others. Vertical integration has seen it diversify into specialty products such as Pentaerythritol and Phthalic Anhydride. Apart from offering the customers a wide range of decorative and industrial paints, it even custom-creates products to meet specific needs.

BPCL - Leading player in Gas
Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) has made rapid strides and emerged as one of India’s leading petroleum majors alongside its public sector units.

(PSU) peers such as HPCL and IOCL. The company’s current refining capacity stands at 8.5 MTPA and is expected to increase to 12 MTPA by FY05. Its two subsidiaries Numaligarh and Kochi Refinery increase the combined capacity to 19 MTPA. BPCL`s network includes 4,850 retail outlets and 1,800 LPG distributors. It plans to enter exploration in next three years and is known for its pro-activeness.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) traces its history to 1928 when the Burmah Shell Oil Storage & Distribution Company of India was incorporated in England to enter the petroleum products business in India. The business of the Company grew substantially given the international backing of Shell and it achieved the leadership position in India. Today the company produces a diverse range of products, from Petrochemicals and Solvents to aircraft fuel and specialty lubricants. It manufactures petroleum and petroleum products, asphalt, bituminous substances, carbon, carbon black, hydrocarbons, mineral substances and the products/by-products derived there from. The organization structure of BPCL was revamped and six new Strategic Business Units (SBU's) have been created.

Cipla - a broad product range
The Chemical, Industrial & Pharmaceutical Laboratories which came to be popularly known as Cipla, is one of the largest domestic pharma companies with focus on the anti-asthma segment. The company enjoys a near dominant position in the asthma segment. The company also has a major presence in the anti-infectives and cardiovascular segments. Cipla has traditionally focused on the domestic market. However, off late, it has increased focus on the exports market and is now exporting drug formulations to over 140 countries.

One of the largest drugs manufactures, Cipla manufactures and markets bulk drugs and formulations. It is now ranked second in India in terms of retail pharmaceutical sales. It has manufacturing facilities at Kurkumbh, Bangalore, Patalganda and Vikroli in Mumbai. All the bulk drug facilities have been approved by the US FDA and the formulation facilities have been approved by the Medicine Control Agency, UK; the Medicine Control Council, South Africa; the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia and other international agencies. Cipla has a very wide product range which includes antibiotics, anti-bacterials, anti-asthmatics, anti-inflammatory anthelminites, anti-cancer and cardiovasculars. In domestic formulation market, antibiotics are the mainstay, which contributes around 50% of the company's revenue. Some of the leading brands are Ciplox (Ciprofloxacin), Novamox (Amoxycilin) and Norflox (Norfloxacin). Cipla also has in its product portfolio Zidovir (zidovudine, anti-A IDS drug). Cipla was one of the first among the Indian pharmaceutical companies to introduce ampicillin and norfloxacin.

Container Corporation - Gaining from its monopoly status
Container Corporation of India (Concor) is a subsidiary of Indian Railways. Concor enjoys a monopoly in handling import and export of the nation's trade in containers through rail routes. It has a network of inland container depots (ICDs) all over the country. Today, by most accounts, there is believed to be a wagon shortage of anywhere between 40 and 50 per cent of total demand. The company provides logistic solutions to various terminals connected through railways (28), roadways (6) and ports (5). With more than 8,000 owned and leased containers, the company is one of the most efficient logistic companies in India. A monopoly position in moving containerized cargo is unlikely to be threatened for a few more years. There will likely be improvement in its cargo carrying capacity over the next 18 months as wagon expansion gathers pace. The expanding geographical footprint through inland container depots, a steadily rising level of containerized traffic, and the enhanced facilities for containerization at two recently-commissioned ports etc. augurs well for this giant. Concor plans to establish a strategic presence at some major container handling ports in order to have a presence at both points of the transportation stream. Acquisition of new rail flat cars will lower rail haul cost in real terms and transit time.

Dr Reddys - a best bet from pharma
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (DRL), is one of India’s fastest growing pharma companies. The company develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of pharmaceutical products in India and overseas. The foresightedness in recognizing generic opportunities in developed markets and initiatives like spearheading basic pharma research demonstrates management vision. The company is fast emerging as a specialty pharma company. Dr Reddy's new drug discovery research initiatives have resulted in the company having an excellent NCE pipeline.

DRL is probably the only basic research and development player in the Indian pharma industry. DRL has built up a formidable pipeline of molecules in the segments of diabetes, oncology and pain management. DRL was the 1st Indian company to export drugs to Europe and CIS. The company has over 190 finished dosage brands and 60 active pharmaceutical ingredients currently in production. Dr. Reddy's actively pursues a basic research program under the aegis of Dr. Reddy's Research Foundation (DRF). The merger with Cheminor Drugs (the swap ratio at nine shares of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories for 25 shares of Cheminor), has made DRL the third largest pharmaceutical company in India with participation in every element of the value chain. DRL is a major player in the domestic finished dosages market and many of its brands are leaders.

GAIL- capitalizing on the gas
GAIL (India) is a monopoly player and India's largest natural gas transmission and marketing. Its distribution network of pipeline (about 4500km) is spread across India. It is a major producer of LPG (capacity of 1.1mtpa) in the country. Its petrochemicals capacity is about 300 thtpa and has a presence in exploration through joint ventures. It has plans to import nearly 7.5 mtpa LNG in the country by FY05 through JV with Petronet LNG. GAIL sources most of its gas from ONGC and sells it onward to buyers adding on the transmission charges. In addition to transmission charges it gets a marketing margin on the gas sourced from private players. But the private players' gas supplies account for just 16 per cent of the total gas marketing business of GAIL.

The company dominates the gas sector, transporting 90% of the total piped gas. In addition, it operates seven plants to process natural gas into LPG, apart from having a small presence in the petrochemicals and oil & gas exploration sectors. Natural gas is increasingly being looked at as an important source of energy in India, primarily as it is a cheaper substitute to naphtha, currently used as feedstock/fuel by industrial users. At present, there is almost a 50% shortfall in the requirement for natural gas, with demand estimated at 151 million metric standard cubic meter per day (mmscmd), while current production is estimated at only 84 mmscmd. With more availability, usage of gas as energy source will go up from the current 10% to about 20% in 2025, as per ministry estimates. Gail appears well set to optimally capitalize on the future gas transportation potential in the country. It is currently the only player with a pipeline network across the country, the backbone of w which is the Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HBJ) pipeline connecting western and northern India.

Grasim - Cementing the future
Grasim Industries Ltd (GIL), the flagship of the Aditya Birla group of companies, is almost a monopoly in VSF (viscose staple fiber) in the domestic market and is also the lowest cost producer in the world. The company is also among the major cement players in the country with a total capacity of 12 million tonnes (8% of country’s capacity). The company has emerged as the largest producer of cement in the country, (a capacity of around 30 m tonnes) controlling around 22% of the total cement capacity in the country. It also produces sponge Iron, Chemicals and textiles.

The company has successful Joint ventures (JVs) abroad that include viscose staple fiber plants in Thailand and Indonesia and carbon black plants in Thailand and Egypt and pulp plants in Canada. Joint ventures in India are Tanfac Industries, Bina Power Supply Company, Birla AT&T Co., and Bihar Caustic & Chemicals. The company has recently divested its stake in Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals. Grasim is also well placed to pursue further capacity expansion in cement through acquisitions and by setting up new units. Its strength in distribution would ensure that marketing additional volumes would not be a problem. This has been evident over the past two years, as it has outperformed the industry. The profitability of its VSF business - in which it is a monopoly - is likely to be better as prices have been increased this fiscal. The cloud over the VSF business imposed by poor rainfall a month ago has also lifted, courtesy of the revival from the monsoon. A strong balance sheet with the potential to raise equity and debt at attractive prices is a strength that remains undiluted.

HCL - the tech smart company
HCL Technologies, one of the largest players in the software services sector, is focused on research and development (R&D) outsourcing. Its service offerings include technology development (30% of revenues in 3QFY03), product-engineering (16%), networking (10%), application development (35%) and ITES (9%). Its strong relationships with clients (some of whom are on long-term contracts) would ensure good flow of business and stability of revenues. It works with prestigious clients like Cisco, Alacatel, Bankers Trust, Toshiba, etc. Currently the company has an order book position of $400mn out of which $375mn is from long-term contracts.

HCLT offers services in cutting edge technologies in the area of web / e-commerce, technology development services and networking services. It has one of the highest portion of revenues (among Indian software companies) coming from e-commerce / internet. This would ensure that its margins would be protected to a large extent by virtue of it being able to demand the best billing rates and balance out the effect of the increase in manpower cost. The company has shown excellent results for the current quarter with a revenue growth of 63%yoy and PAT growth of 167%yoy.

HDFC - Stable performer
HDFC Bank (HDFCBK) was incorporated in Aug. 1994 and promoted by Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) India's premier housing finance company which also enjoys an impeccable track record in India as well as in international markets. A good understanding of the retail sphere as well as inorganic growth initiatives has made the bank the second largest private sector bank in the country.

India’s largest residential mortgage finance institution, HDFC has always been a high-performer, recording a creditable 30 percent growth per annum on an average. HDFCBK is providing service in 163 cities with a branch network of 312. Its ATM network has crossed 900 and it has 26400 Point of Sale (POS) Terminals at various merchant outlets. Nearly 100 cities are covered under Phone Banking. HDFC Bank concentrates in four areas - corporate banking, treasury management, custodial services and retail banking. It has entered the banking consortia of over 50 corporates for providing working capital finance, trade services, corporate finance and merchant banking. It is also providing sophisticated product structures, sound advice and fine pricing mainly in areas of foreign exchange and derivatives, money markets and debt trading and equity research through its state-of-the-art dealing room.

HLL - the leader in consumer market
Hindustan Lever (HLL) is India's largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and the dominant market leader with a wide array of brands, a distribution network and tremendous cash power. It is No. 1 or a strong No. 2 in categories like soaps, detergents, tea, culinary items (sauces, jams, noodles), ice-creams, personal care (skin creams, lotions), hair care (shampoos, oils) and oral care. Its product folio is supported by one of the strongest and most sophisticated distribution networks penetrating remote corners of India. During the last decade, HLL has acquired a dominant position in the Indian marketplace despite facing cut-throat competition from regional players.

Unilever, a Fortune 500 company, holds 51% equity in HLL. However, the company is facing pressure on sales both in volume and value terms. Lifting of quantitative restrictions on food products has led to the market getting flooded with imported goods. Competition is severe in segments such as soaps, detergents and oral care. In foods and ice cream business the company has to face severe competition from well-entrenched local producers (especially wheat flour and ice cream). Project Millennium: HLL launched the Project Millennium after sensing a need to recharge their growth engines in the backdrop of the opportunities being created by the needs of the consumers and the development of infrastructure and deployment of technology in India. In line with Unilever's decision to prune its brand portfolio, HLL is focusing on its top 30 brands out of a total of 110 brands, which contribute more than 75% of the turnover. The plan is to give disproportionate support to its top 30 brands.

HPCL - garnering market share
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is the second largest petroleum and refining company in India having a market share of over 20%. It has the second largest retail outlet network after IOCL. In the Marketing segment its performance has been better as compared to other four PSUs in terms of gain in market share. In the branded segment its product ‘Power’ and ‘Tourbo Jet ’ have established themselves well. HPCL holds 11.1 percent of the total refining capacity in India.

HPCL has two refineries, one at Mumbai (5.5 m tonnes) and the other at Visakh (7.5 m tonnes). The company has about 4863 retail outlets and owns 71% of these. It has plans to set up a grass root refinery of 9 m tonnes at Bhatinda by FY06. The customer base of HPCL for its LPG business stands at about 0.7 m. The company is in a position to benefit from its refining activity as refining margins have strengthened considerably in recent times and this situation is likely to continue for sometime. The de-bottlenecking and modernization programs at Mumbai and Vizag would improve the operating efficiency and would yield better margins as the company would be processing products compatible with the latest Euro norms.

Hero Honda - Racing Ahead
Hero Honda Motors Limited (HHML), the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world, is a joint venture promoted by Hero Cycles (P) Limited and Honda Motor Company of Japan. The company is the market leader in the motorcycle segment with a 44% market share in FY03 (50% in FY02). The company is also the largest producer of motorcycles among all Honda companies in the world. Splendor is the single largest selling two-wheeler model worldwide. Hero Honda's main characteristics are its four-stroke engine technology; fuel efficiency and low exhaust pollution levels. It exports to around 31 countries including Sri Lanka, Africa, west Asia, Bermuda, Zaire, and Paraguay.

The Indian two wheeler sector is the largest in terms of volumes (70%) among all the segments in the automobile industry. The segment can be further categorized into three main sub-segments - scooters, motorcycles and mopeds. With strong brand equity of its fuel-efficient vehicles, a wide range of motorcycles, and backing of the global leader Honda, HHML is well placed in the sector. With the consumer shift towards motorcycles not likely to abate in the foreseeable future, growth in the motorcycle segment seems set to continue. The company has indigenized more than 95% of its components. HHML sources most of its component requirement from third party vendors. This allows greater flexibility in production planning. Materials cost is relatively high and overheads are lower.

Hindalco - lowest cost global producers of aluminum
Hindalco Industries Ltd (Hindalco), an AV Birla Group company, is India’s largest aluminium producer and has the distinction of being one of the lowest cost producers of the metal in the world. Hindalco is a non-ferrous metals powerhouse, which has two key divisions - aluminium and copper. Captive bauxite mines and power plants ensure Hindalco’s competitiveness and profitability even at low LME prices. In the coming years, the usage of aluminium in different applications like transportation, packaging and construction etc will increase. Hence Hindalco’s move from being just a metal producer to being a down stream player will pay rich dividends. It will improve margins and make it is less susceptible to the fluctuations in LME aluminium prices. The company also has copper as its business segment, which it acquired recently from Indo Gulf.

The key driver of earnings growth for the aluminium division will be sustained volume growth, better value-added product profile, strong international prices and reasonably good domestic demand. Hindalco accounts for 44% of India's primary aluminium production. Hindalco has recently acquired from Alcan Aluminium (Alcan) around 38.84 million shares of Indian Aluminium Company, (Indal) aggregating to 74.6% holding. Indal's strength in Alumina and downstream products would ideally dovetail with Hindalco's strong presence in metal.

IOC - major oil marketing player
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is the country’s largest oil refining and marketing company (about 48% market share in retailing). IOCL controls 10 of India's 18 refineries with an annual capacity of 49.30 MMTPA. It also owns and operates crude oil and product pipelines of 7170 Km with an annual capacity of 52.75 MMTPA. The total pipeline network was increased from 6325 km to 7170 km with enhanced capacity of 52.85 MMT. IOC`s subsidiaries includes Bongaigaon and Chennai petroleum. IOCL has the highest refining capacity in the country today.

Indian Refineries & Indian Oil Company were set up in 1958 and 1959 respectively, to build national competence in the oil refining and marketing business. In 1964 these two companies merged to form the India Oil Corporation (IOCL). The high differential in the prices of crude oil and of petroleum products (the finished product) during 2003-04 ensured good margins for Indian refiners. IOC’s refining margins continue to be well above $8 per barrel. The world over, refineries are stretching their capacity utilization as there has been an increase in oil demand. Demand is expected to be higher by 2.6 million barrels per day in 2004 over levels in 2003. Of this incremental demand, 0.6 million barrels comes from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries and China accounts for 0.8 million barrels a day. In 2003-04, India’s total consumption of petroleum products was about 107.7 million tonnes, registering a growth of over 3 per cent for the second year i n succession after a flat year in 2001-02.

ITC - The farmland push
ITC Ltd dominates the $2.7 billion Indian cigarette industry with over 70% share. The company has emerged as a strong No. 3 in the Indian luxury hotel segment (capacity over 1,500 rooms) and also runs the largest packaged board business in Asia. It is one of the largest exporters of agro/marine products in Asia. Its new businesses include garment retailing, packaged foods, greeting cards, matchsticks and incense sticks.

ITC has diversified its brands across products categories. Its successful brands include Gold Flake, Wills, Classic, Bristol and Scissors. It also sells two luxury filter brands of its parent company Benson & Hedges and 555. The growth in the cigarettes business was affected in the past couple of years mainly due to poor growth in agriculture and the moribund state of the economy. The fortunes of the economy, in particular the rural sector, are now on the upswing. This will boost the profitability of the cigarette segment.

Infosys - Things are extremely rosy
Infosys Technologies Ltd(Infosys) became the first Indian company to be listed on American Stock Exchange. Infosys is one of India's leading information technologies(IT) services companies. It is mainly engaged custom software development, maintenance, re-engineering services, e-commerce and internet consulting as well as dedicated offshore software development centers for certain clients. The company also develops and markets certain company owned software products.

Mentored by the iconic N.R. Narayana Murthy, and run by the level-headed Nandan Nilekani, the Bangalore-based software giant provides customized software development and maintenance of branded services, software solutions, product engineering services and other related IT functions. It has 31 global development centers around the world of which 18 are in India -6 in Bangalore, 2 each in Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Mangalore, Pune and one each in Hyderabad, Mohali, Thiruvananthapuram and Mysore. Infosys Technologies is an interesting stock, which trades at a price-to-earnings multiple of nearly 30 times its earnings for the year ended March 2004. However, there is scope for appreciation over the long-term. In addition, the revision in earnings and revenue growth rates in the course of the year, as had happened in 2003, can lead to share price gains.

Moser Baer - A storage play
Moser Baer is one of the few companies that have brought global recognition to the `Made in India` tag. The company is world’s third largest and India’s only player in optical data storage products. Operating through 6 manufacturing plants in India, the company has developed 5 global brands. Moser Baer derives more than 80% of its revenues from export markets, particularly from the European region.

Moser Baer has established itself as one of the three key manufacturers in the global optical data storage markets. It has a foothold in all the segments of the optical media market ranging from Recordable and Rewritable Compact Discs (CD-R/RW) to Recordable Digital Versatile Disk (DVD-R). Using its flexibility in product range, the company has managed to cater to the increased demand from the DVD-R market and enhanced its market share. In the latest quarter ended December 31, 2003, DVD accounted for 18 per cent of the company's revenues and is likely to increase steadily. In addition, the average selling prices of CD/ DVD has remained stable in the recent quarter, despite a steady decline in the DVD prices.

Mahindra - benefits from tax incentives 
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is engaged in the manufacture of utility vehicles (UVs), tractors, light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and three-wheelers. While the automotive division, comprising UVs, LCVs and three-wheelers, contributed to 68% of its revenues, the farm equipment division accounted for 26% of revenues and the rest from others. The tractor market continues to exhibit steady growth. M&M has a software subsidiary in Mahindra British Telecom (MBT). The company had in the past hinted at a listing for its software subsidiary and the valuations of its software subsidiary will drive the valuations of M&M.

M&M could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the excise duty exemption that the Union Budget has extended for tractors. The Budget has a rider for tractor manufacturers that could potentially wipe out most of the benefit from the excise duty exemption. This is the absence of Modvat credit on components that are outsourced. Excise duty exemption will now be available only for components that are manufactured and consumed in-house by tractor manufacturers. As a result, companies that have a higher percentage of own components in the final product (tractor) will be able to reap the full benefit of the excise exemption. This is where M&M could potentially score over the other tractor manufacturers.

ONGC - Making money in the oil value chain 
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is India’s biggest player in terms of profitability and is the first company to cross the $2.2 billion mark in terms of net profits in FY03. It is engaged in exploration and production of oil and gas, both onshore and offshore. Revenues come from selling crude oil and natural gas to domestic refineries and other user industries. Most of its production of crude oil comes from Bombay high. Its foreign arm, ONGC Videsh, deals with acquiring equity stakes abroad to meet crude oil requirements.

The entry of new players in petroleum marketing has raised a lot of excitement, but it is the refining segment of the oil business that is currently making money. Those investing with a long-term perspective need to consider a few important risk factors such as the direction of crude oil price movement and government policy that have a critical bearing on ONGC's prospects. The most important variable in ONGC's business is also its most uncertain one - movement of crude oil prices. With the dismantling of the administered price mechanism, ONGC is now fully exposed to global oil price swings. The company's revenue and earnings move up and down in line with prevailing global oil prices.

Ranbaxy - Global sales drive growth
Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd (RLL) is India’s largest pharma company, having a strong presence over a wide range of therapeutic segments like anti-infective, GI tract, multivitamin, cardiovascular, NSAIDs and dermatologicals. It exports products to over 70 countries with ground operations in 25 and manufacturing facilities in 7. Currently International sales contribute 50% of total sales. Though anti-infectives remain its core business, Ranbaxy's R&D thrust has resulted in the company having the most enviable R&D pipeline in the country. Ranbaxy houses one of the best pools of scientists in Asia and with a strength of 350 scientists working under its roof, Ranbaxy has many leading molecules in the pipeline. The mega deal with Bayer AG, Germany to develop once a day Ciprofloxacin is a testimony of its R&D capabilities. Moreover, Ranbaxy’s foray into Novel Drug Delivery Systems has helped it reap rich dividends (Ciprofloxacin).

And that's not all, the company is not content with all this and plans to become a global player. To achieve this goal it has set a sales target of achieving sales of $1bn by 2004. With a strong pipeline of products to tap the attractive generic market in the US, Ranbaxy's moves merit attention. With 40 products pending approval with the US Food and Dug Administration, of which more than half are applications that involve a patent challenge, the upside possibilities in case Ranbaxy emerges successful in patent litigation, are indeed immense. Developments on this front need to be closely tracked and can be used as a cue to considering exposure in the stock.

Reliance Industries - Indian powerhouse
India’s most admired company, India’s largest private sector company, ranked no. 189 in terms of net profit in the Fortune 500, and the world’s largest producer of polyester staple fiber and polyester filament yarn, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is highly rated first in the poll on financial performance, return to shareholders and growth prospects. It has presence in petrochemicals (about 60% of India’s capacity), petroleum and recently entered into oil and gas exploration.

Within the country, Reliance is the largest manufacturer of PX, PTA and MEG, with a market share of over 80%. RIL has grown into petrochemical major since its modest beginning with a synthetic fabric mill at Naorda. Reliance's consolidated profits were nearly the same as standalone profits as profits from Reliance Energy and IPCL were eaten away by losses in Reliance Infocomm (which is expected to be out of the red by the end of this fiscal).

SBI - Bulging loan book
The State Bank of India is the largest commercial bank in India in terms of profits, assets, deposits, branches and employees. This is one of the oldest public sector banks in the country. SBI has a branch size of over 13,600 branches and a large ATM network spread across the country. While SBI is a public sector bank controlled by the government it is governed by a separate act called the SBI Act of 1955. SBI was set up with the objective of extending banking services for the development of the rural sector.

SBI plays a vital role in providing working capital and term finance to the Indian industry. Due to its large network of branches, SBI has been able to garner a large chunk of deposits from the rural sector. It is also a leader in the international banking business. SBI has eight business units: namely, corporate banking, international banking and domestic banking for concentrating on core areas; associate banks division for looking after the working of these banks; credit division to monitor the overall credit; and three other business units-finance, corporate development and inspection for in-house work, to help keep the mammoth organization in order. The key to State Bank of India’s latest results lies in its advances growth. The bank, however, has a number of advantages. By virtue of its size, its ability to stay in the business for a considerably longer period is assured. It can explore growth opportunities outside the Indian sub-continent, too. The size can also be leve raged to grow its other businesses - notably credit cards, insurance, mutual funds, and as a primary dealer. This could compensate for the constraints to growth in the banking business. This has been in evidence over the past two years. The non-banking business of SBI has been growing at a much faster pace than its banking business.

Satyam - betting on offshoring
Satyam Computers is one of the leading players in the software services space and the fourth largest software exporter in the country . The Company is a multifaceted, totally integrated IT solutions provider. Originally incorporated as a private limited company in 1987, Satyam has escalated to a full-fledged global company, employing 5500 IT professionals in India, U.S. Japan, U.K., Singapore and Europe and offering a range of expertise in diverse areas of Information Technology.

Satyam is all geared up to survive the brutal competition and volatility of the IT industry through its strategy of a diversified portfolio of fine quality end-to-end products and services. Satyam's focus on enlarging the portfolio of services offered to the existing customers is fuelling growth. For example, besides the traditional application development projects, the company has managed to rope in several clients for CRM, data warehousing and data mining. The market for software development and maintenance services is intensely competitive at the international level. For customers coming to India looking for offshore vendors, there is competition from some of the largest Indian Software companies. On a relative valuation basis, Satyam continues to trade at a sizeable discount to its frontline peers, Infosys and Wipro.

Tata Motors - On the Move
Tata Motors (Formerly known as Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Ltd),Controlled by the House of Tatas, it is the sixth-largest manufacturer of trucks in the world. Tata Motors has been dazzling the Indian automobile industry with a slew of launches in the last two years. The success of Indica and Indigo has clearly helped the company reinvent itself. The commercial diesel vehicles, which were called Tata Mercedes Benz, are now sold under the name Tata after the expiry of the collaboration agreement with Daimler-Benz, Germany. Apart from manufacturing light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, it also manufactures passenger cars, utility vehicles, excavators and machine tools.

With volume growth continuing to be robust and the company able to pass on some of the higher costs, Tata Motors should continue to fare well given that the economy is growing at a healthy pace. Tata Motors is India’s largest commercial vehicle (CV) manufacturer with a commanding 67% share in medium and heavy commercial segment (M/HCVs). While CVs contributed to 64% of revenues, sale of cars and spare parts accounted for 27% and 6% of revenues respectively in FY03.

Wipro - the diversified giant
Beginning humbly as a small edible oil producer, this Bangalore-based company has metamorphosed into a world-class software giant. Wipro is India’ s third-largest exporter of software services and has a diversified business model catering to areas of IT, health sciences, consumer care and lighting. IT services now contribute to around 70% of Wipro's total revenues, and includes a wide range of services like package implementation, systems integration, application development, R&D services and BPO.

The fortunes of the diversified Wipro continue to be dominated by Wipro Technologies, its global IT services and products segment. For 2003-04, Wipro Technologies accounted for 74 per cent of revenues and 86 per cent of profit before interest and tax. Strong revenue growth in these years, a differentiated set of service offerings and a good acquisition-led strategy have bolstered the fortunes of Wipro Technologies. Sustained improvement in operating profit margins, however, holds the key to its future valuation. Wipro Lighting is a major diversification of Wipro, manufacturing and marketing lighting products for households and the commercial and industrial markets.

VSNL - Ringing Right
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL)is the principal provider of international telecommunication services in India. Over the years the company has been transformed from an overseas-switched voice company to an internationally recognized telecommunications company utilizing and offering a full range of digital technology. VSNL is the largest player in Internet segment in India. In 2002, VSNL was acquired by the Tata group and is an important cog in Tata group’s plans of providing services across the entire telecom value chain. VSNL completed its maiden GDR issue to the extent of USD 527 million. GOI was holding 52.97% stake in VSNL of which it has divested a 25% stake to the Tata Group as a strategic partner along with the right to manage the company. M/s Panatone Finvest Limited, a company which is owned by various Tata Group companies, has picked the stake. Consequent to this divestment, the Government of India (GOI) stake in VSNL has come down to 26.12%. Subsequent to all above issues, VSNL has now become a Tata group company.