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

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 year from last year's 13 and ten a year earlier.

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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 containers and packaging firms -- Cosmo Films and Essel Propack.

Asian Paints, Bharat Forge (metal fabricators), Graphite India and Indo Gulf (fertilisers) also find place in the coveted list.

Forbes paid tribute to the initiatives taken by Essel Propack, which has become a major player in the laminated tube markets selling 350 crore (3.5 billion) tubes a year and is supplying the product to multinationals.

Every third laminated tube sold worldwide is made by Essel and its vice chairman Ashok Geol is quoted as saying that the company plans to make that "every second tube". The article profiles the aggressive policies followed by the company to make it a world player despite all odds.

The magazine said India is a special case as it has some "pretty big fish" swimming among the 200. Two software titans, Infosys and Wipro, were earlier this year in the magazine's big-company A-list as their market capitalisation is in excess of $5 billion.

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 magazine noted that Dr Reddy Labs spent 8 per cent of sales on research and development last year and this year, the target is 10 per cent.

The 200 successful companies were drawn from among 19,000 publicly traded concerns with annual sales below $1 billion. The magazine screened out most corporations that did not have operating margins of at least 5 per cent in the latest year and average equity return of at least 5 per cent over the past five years.