New York, Mar 16 (PTI): Tata Steel and software exporter Wipro have been named among the world's most ethical companies by an American think tank.

Tata Steel and Wipro are the only Indian entities named in the 2012 list of 'World's Most Ethical Companies' (WME) prepared by US-based Ethisphere Institute.

At least two global firms headed by an India-origin individuals featured in the list of 145 companies. They are Indra Nooyi-led beverages giant PepsiCo and Shantanu Narayen-led software major Adobe Systems.

"This year's list covers more than three dozen industries, from aerospace to wind power, with 43 of the WME winners headquartered outside the US," the think-tank said in a statement today.

Tata Steel along with US-based Alcoa and Belgium's Umicore are featured in the metals and mining category.

Wipro and five other American companies have been named from the computer software segment. The rest are Adobe Systems, Microsoft, Salesforce.com, Symantec Corporation and Teradata Corporation.

All the companies were chosen on the basis of various factors including corporate citizenship and responsibility, governance, culture of ethics, reputation, leadership and innovation.

According to the statement, 23 companies have been part of the WME list since its inception six years ago. These entities include Aflac, American Express, Fluor, General Electric and Starbucks.

"This year's winners know that a strong ethics programme is a key component to a successful business model, and they continue to scrutinise their ethical standards to keep up with an ever-changing regulatory environment," Ethisphere Executive Director Alex Brigham said.