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Mony K. Mathew

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov. 5 The Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation (Keltron) which has seen its fortunes plunge after successfully pioneering the concept of a state-promoted electronics development agency in the country, is in a restructuring mode.

The Industries Minister, Mr Elamaram Kareem, had said the other day that Keltron was on its way to becoming a Rs 1,000-crore company over the next five years and that a consultant had been appointed to prepare a restructuring package to achieve the target.

In a chat with Business Line, Capt. O.P. Dua, Managing Director of Keltron, said the immediate goal was to reach a turnover of Rs 200 crore in the current year from over Rs 150 crore recorded last year. In the meantime, the company has identified a few thrust areas to take itself forward on the growth trajectory.

It has struck an agreement with the consortium of banks for a one-time settlement of liabilities, which, in the past, had proved to be the biggest hurdle to any revival strategy. Accordingly, it has already made three instalments of Rs 12.5 crore each towards the total reworked liability of around Rs 58 crore and the remaining two instalments are scheduled to be paid shortly.

Capt. Dua said that some of the thrust areas identified were power electronics, control and instrumentation and catering to defence requirements.

The company has entered into memorandums of understanding with organisations such as like BEL, BHEL, ISRO, ONGC and Nuclear Power Corporation for manufacture and supply of strategic equipment and components. Another MoU with Mahindra Consultants envisages joint bidding for mega IT projects at the national and international level.

Keltron has also emerged as the lowest bidder for supplying 300 processor-based ground mines to Indian Navy. The contract worth around Rs 40 crore is expected to be firmed up within a month.

The company is developing competitiveness in newer areas and one of them is the manufacture of security and surveillance devices. It is in the process of bidding for supplying these devices to Delhi police force. Keltron is also looking for taking up projects across the country for installing intelligent traffic management systems.

Capt. Dua said that one of the top priorities was to put in place a well-equipped research and development wing to help the company keep itself abreast of the emerging technological challenges. The Kochi-based Naval Physical Oceanographic Laboratory will be partner of Keltron in this initiative.

He said the company would need fresh capital infusion for upgrading the existing infrastructure to implement the new growth plans as also for setting up the R&D wing. The State Government had already been approached for financial support for the purpose, he added.

More Stories on : Restructuring | Electronics | Kerala

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