BackBEL seeks opportunities in atomic energy sector
BEL seeks opportunities in atomic energy sector
PTI
New Delhi: Expecting the nuclear deal with US to go through, India’s largest defence electronic company Bharat Electronic Ltd (BEL) is looking at tapping the lucrative business potential in the atomic energy sector.
The Navratna defence PSU said it was exploring opportunities at the instrumentation part of the nuclear technology as part of its diversification plans.
“BEL is looking at instrumentation part of the nuclear technology as one of our diversification areas," Chairman and Managing Director of the company VVR Sastry told PTI.
He said the Indo-US nuclear deal will open up huge technological advantage and investment opportunities for Indian companies and that the BEL was working eagerly to tap the benefits.
“We are actively and eagerly working on this scenario and we want to take advantage out of it for our business diversification plans," Sastry said.
Asked whether the company would be interested in entering into any joint ventures with foreign companies, he stated that the company was looking at “all alternatives."
“We are looking at all options. We are exploring all alternatives as single approach is not good enough for our growth," he said.
Engineering major Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Anil Ambani’s Reliance Power, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Infosys, Wipro and TCS and many other companies are also looking at opportunities to exploit the possible opportunities in the nuclear energy sector.
Restructuring plan
Asked how much money the company plans to pump in for diversification in the area, Sastry declined to divulge details.
Sastry said the company has appointed leading management consulting firm KPMG to suggest a restructuring plan for BEL so that the company could smoothly expand its operation.
“We have appointed KPMG as our consultants. I think through our technological inputs and their market knowledge, we will be able to find out some diversification areas for the company," he said.
The defence PSU has recorded a turnover of Rs4,114 crore for the year 2007-08, as against last year’s turnover of Rs3,952 crore.
Replying to a question on company’s oversease market, Sastry said the company has an order book position of $20 million for the current year.
“We are trying to increase exports to South East Asian and other countries and then contract manufacturing to Europe and the US," he said, adding that the offsets will form the bulk of the company’s export markets.
“We have already signed MoUs with 10 companies," he said.
BEL was established at Bangalore by the Government of India under the Ministry of Defence in 1954 to meet the specialised electronic needs of the Indian defence services.
Over the years, it has grown into a multi-product, multi-technology, multi-unit company serving the needs of customers in diverse fields in India and abroad.
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