The Hindu Business Line : Keltron reiterates demand for OTS

`Keltron, unlike similar organisations floated by other State Governments, has been able to survive liberalisation and globalisation through diversification and technological innovations.'

Thiruvananthapuram , July 10

The executives of the State-owned Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation (Keltron) have urged the State Government to expedite the long-pending proposal for a one-time settlement (OTS) of the corporation's liabilities with banks.

This follows the categorisation of Keltron as a sick company by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) the other day.

According to the Keltron Executives Association (KEXA), the BIFR decision is purely technical and is only a part of the procedures under the Sick Industries Act. It was based on the working performance of the corporation in 1997-98, it said.

The failure to push through the OTS of Rs 58 crore in time and the delay in converting the Government loans into equity had resulted in the corporation's accumulated losses reaching around Rs 500 crore.

However, Keltron has achieved the capability to come out of the BIFR purview in the current year itself, the association claimed.

Keltron, unlike similar organisations floated by other State Governments, has been able to survive liberalisation and globalisation through diversification and technological innovations. In the last fiscal, it achieved 30 per cent growth in turnover, which crossed Rs 100 crore.

In the current year, the sales turnover has reached Rs 25 crore in the first three months itself, as against the targeted annual turnover of Rs 132 crore.

`To perform better'

With orders worth around Rs 60 crore already in hand, Keltron is in a position to perform much better in the current year, the association said.

It is of the view that the State Government should give purchase preference to Keltron as in the case of similar electronics corporations in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Besides, the corporation should be retained as the nodal agency of the Government.

The Government should take the initiative to hold talks with the banks and put in place firm measures to turn the corporation's net worth positive in the current year itself, the association said.

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