The Hindu Business Line : Kerala to hand over Keltec to DRDO

The Defence Minister, Mr A.K. Antony, who held discussions with Keltec officials recently, said the proposal was under consideration of the Ministry.

Kochi April 1 The Kerala Government has decided to hand over its Kerala Hitech Industries Ltd (Keltec) to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The State Government had arrived at the decision after three round of talks with the Defence Ministry and DRDO officials, a senior official source told Business Line.

Keltec is already a strategic supplier of high precision defence and space-related components to DRDO,Indian Space Research Organisation and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.

The Ministry is seriously following it up and a positive decision is expected soon.

The Defence Minister, Mr A.K. Antony, who held discussions with Keltec officials recently during his visit to the State said the proposal was under consideration of the Ministry.

The official said the defence procurement during the next five years was estimated at Rs 5 lakh crore. Main bidders for supplying the items were foreign companies. However, according to the government policy, components worth 30 per cent of the bid value should be procured from the country and as such Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth procurement has to be made from indigenous sources, he said.

Keltec could become one of the beneficiaries given its status as a supplier of high-precision engineering products to the strategic establishments.

A DRDO takeover would help expand its operations apart from strengthening downstream industries creating employment opportunities for the long-term, he said. Small and medium scale units in the engineering, electrical and electronic sectors could get a boost, he said.

The turnover of Keltec last fiscal was at Rs 20 crore excluding the cost of materials. The high-cost materials such as titanium metal are supplied to the unit by the defence and Space organisations.

marketing avenues

Small and medium units are currently lagging behind for want of proper marketing avenues. This problem could also be addressed once the company is taken over by the DRDO, he added.

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