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West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Ltd (Webel), the IT and hardware manufacturing arm of the West Bengal government, is planning to take up e-governance contracts from other state governments.
Webel is eyeing e-governance contracts as a part of its revenue generation drive. Some subsidiaries of Webel, such as the Webel Electronic Communication Systems has been providing telemedicine services to the Tripura government.
e-gov contracts “We have gained sufficient experience in e-governance and maintenance of such systems. So we may explore contracts from other states,” Aninda Chatterjee, Executive Director (Finance) of Webel, told BusinessLine on the sidelines of a programme organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).Bengal has been one of the few states to have successfully implemented e-governance across districts and even at the panchayat levels.
Set up in 1974 to develop electronics industry in the state, the corporation through its subsidiaries was engaged in the manufacture of electronic components and equipment such as quartz crystals, electrolytic capacitors, carbon and metal film resistors, black and white picture tubes, electronically driven tools, thyristor controlled AC drives, broadcasting equipment, TV sets, tran-receivers and electronic telephone exchanges.
Merger plans Webel intends to merge at least four loss-making and less profitable subsidiaries with itself to ensure that the company has the required manpower and net worth to bid for e-governance projects.
The subsidiaries to be merged are Webel Informatics (that is into education, skill building and training), Webel Mediatronics (project management and manufacturing), Webel Electronic Communication Systems (security surveillance, telemedicines, digitisation) and Webel Consumer Electronics (maker of Webel Nicco TV sets).
Another subsidiary, Webel Technologies Ltd (WTL), which focuses on e-governance projects in Bengal, will be spun off into a separate standalone company, Chatterjee said.
In FY16, Webel reported a consolidated turnover of ₹500 crore (apprx), including government grants, with a profit of ₹10 crore. A major part of its profit was driven by WTL. FY17 results are yet to be declared.
New IT parks After the merger, Webel will look at developing IT parks to shore up its rental income.
Six new parks have been proposed, including three in Kolkata (two in the IT hub of Sector V and one at Rajarhat; and one each in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Durgapur. At least a third of the space in these upcoming parks will be in ‘plug-and-play’ mode.
In order to set up these parks, Webel will leverage its own land bank as well as coordinate with other state government undertakings to acquire land parcels.
Currently, there are 12 IT parks across the state, while five more are expected soon. Approximately, ₹20 crore have been spent for setting up each park.
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