SME CEO Knowledge Series : IT Panacea in Hyderabad

Organized jointly by CyberMedia and ICICI Bank, the nation-wide SME CEOs
Knowledge series was recently held in Hyderabad. The event was conducted to
address the pharmaceutical industry and witnessed an impressive participation
from over 150 SMEs attending the sessions. At a time when almost every industry
is affected as a result of the slowdown, the Indian pharmaceutical industry has
some good news to share. It is poised to become a $33 bn market by 2011-12,
including $22 bn of exports (as per KPMG estimates). In early 2008 the Indian
pharma industry also witnessed a hefty cut in excise duty (from 16% to 8%).

The event created a platform to address the challenges faced by the SMEs in
this ever growing industry. It started with the Finance Clinic where the
entrepreneurs were offered customized expert advice on how to raise capital for
business depending on the stage of business and the optimal level of capital mix
their business needs, through a discussion on a wide array of topics like debt
financing, private equity, IPO, M&A, forex advice and other risk management
products. This was followed by a one-on-one mentoring session with experts from
Marketing & Branding from IIM Calcutta, Taxation from Deloitte, HR, Finance from
ICICI Bank, Voice & Data from Airtel and ERP from SAP, where each entrepreneur
was given time to interact with the mentors. The event concluded with a panel
discussion that included experts like Narayan Reddy, MD, Virchow Labs, KP and
Gopala Krishnan, vice president, Supply chain Management, Dr Reddys
Laboratories, to share their experiences and knowledge with the aspiring SMEs.

Hyderabad has emerged as the pharma and drug research capital of the country and can give competition to global giants with cost effective and innovative products

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjeev Mantri, general manager, ICICI Bank said,
Hyderabad is strongly emerging as a hub of discovery research in pharma
industry. The presence of reputed research institutions like the Indian
Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Centre for Cellular and Molecular
Biology (CCMB), National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and Centre for DNA
Fingerprinting and Diagnosis (CDFD) makes Hyderabad the capital of pharma and
drug research in the country.

Commenting on the occasion, Pradeep Gupta, chairman and managing director,
CyberMedia Group said, The Indian pharmaceutical industry currently tops the
chart among Indias science-based industries with wide ranging capabilities in
the complex field of drug manufacture and technology. A highly organized sector,
the Indian pharmaceutical industry is estimated to be worth $ 4.5 bn, growing at
about 8 to 9% annually. Hyderabad certainly has emerged as major center of bulk
drug, pharma and chemical industries. The industries based in Hyderabad are
giving sleepless nights to global giants across the world because of the cost
effective and innovative products. Much more can be achieved and SME CEO series
hopes to provide the opportunity to discusshow and when?

Team DQ

maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in