President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhu Awards for the year 2010-11 in various categories at a function in New Delhi on Monday.
Forty-four companies received Niryat Shree Awards, while six were honoured with Niryat Bandhu for their outstanding performance in the field of exports.
Speaking on the occasion, President Mukherjee said exports play an important role in the country's economic growth, and exporters must ensure that their products are not only reasonably priced, but also score highly in terms of quality and durability.
The President further said that India has done reasonably well in all parameters of socio-economic activity and has today become the third largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power.
Appreciating the contribution of the export sector to the nation's GDP, President Mukherjee said the average growth rate of exports during last decade has increased to 17.8 per cent, which was 9.4 percent during the period 1992 to 2002.