With this background, it speaks volumes about the foresight of the founding fathers of Independent India who had the vision to establish the country's premier electronics manufacturing company, Bharat Electronics Limited, way back in 1954 at Bangalore under the Ministry of Defence.

Though Bharat Electronics was primarily set up to meet the Defence Electronics requirements of the country, over the years it has grown into a multi-unit, multi-product company. Besides having 9 manufacturing units located at various parts of the country, BEL has a network of regional offices, marketing centres and service centres - a couple of them located at New York and Singapore. BEL presently employs about 14,600 people, out of which around 3,200 are engineers and other officers.
 

BEL's product range is wide and varied. While it manufactures communication equipment, radars and other products for the Defence Services, it produces a variety of equipment and components for the Civil Sector.

On the Defence Communication side, BEL supplies a wide range of HF/VHF/UHF Manpack, Static and Mobile transreceivers and Transmitter/Receiver Stations which have been developed in-house using State-of-the-art technology. BEL's family of HF transmitters cover a power output range of 100 W to 20 KW and incorporate the latest technology like frequency systhesizers, automatic tuning, high stability and solid state design for low and medium power stages. BEL has developed a range of programmable communication receivers, tactical communication equipment and encryption equipment. In addition to this, BEL supplies the Army a range of multichannel VHF/UHF Digital Radio Relays, which are designed for quick deployment. Multichannel Troposcatter Microwave Communication equipment - developed in-house by BEL - provides a rugged and compact communication system for the Army and Air Force. BEL also supplies SATCOM systems for the Air Force and Composite Communication Systems (CCS) for the Navy.
 

On the civil sector, BEL supplies various types of HF, VHF, UHF and Microwave Communication Transmitters, Receivers and Radio Relays to Civil Departments like the Police, DoT (BSNL) and Railways. BEL is a major supplier of a wide range of studio and transmission equipment for sound and vision broadcasting for All India Radio and Doordarshan. Various types of equipment are developed and supplied for the Space Department's programmes. BEL also supplies Earth Stations to VSNL, uplink for Doordarshan and Flyaway Terminals for Disaster Management. In addition to this, BEL supplies various types of Antennae for DoT (BSNL), Doordarshan, VSNL and the Space Department.

BEL is also involved in the manufacture and supply of a variety of other products for the civilian sector. Energy Savers for air conditioners, Motherboards for PCs, Solar Panels and Systems and Surgical Microscopes are some such products.
 

On the Components side, BEL is the largest indigenous source for a variety of electronics components like semiconductors, ICs, Hybrid Micro Circuits, Crystals and Liquid Crystal Displays for use in entertainment as well as professional electronic equipment.

 
PERFORMANCE

With the infrastructural facilities set up over the years, the R&D expertise built up over the last four decades and the well-trained and dedicated manpower that has been nurtured since its inception, the company has been earning profits since 1960. While the company has achieved a turnover of about Rs.1,500 crores (including direct exports of Rs.26 crores) during 1999-2000, BEL is set to achieve a turnover of Rs.1,650 crores in 2000-01, with a forecast of Rs.3,000 crores for the year 2006-2007. This amounts to a growth rate of 10% per annum. BEL plans to achieve and sustain this growth rate by periodically updating its products to match the market requirements as well as technology changes. BEL also plans to diversify into new business areas such as Airport Modernisation, Communication and Safety Equipment for Railways, X-ray tubes, Wireless in Local Loop for rural communication, etc.

BEL has been signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of India since 1989-90 and the ratings of the company against the MoU during the last 5 years have been either Very Good or Excellent.

 
R&D

BEL established its own R&D departments in the 1960s. Through its own research and development and through the collaboration agreements entered into with various world-class manufa- cturers, BEL has acquired an excellent capacity to develop professional electronic equipment and to assimilate technologies from overseas manufacturers. This enables BEL to support all its equipment and products for periods ranging from 10-25 years.
 

Besides designing new generation equipment and periodic updation of the same, the R&D departments work closely with DRDO labs for progressing new development projects on concurrent engineering basis and to absorb the technology for speedy industrial manufacture. On an average, BEL has been spending 5% of its turnover on R&D.
 

In addition to the establishment of R&D departments in all the units, BEL has set up Central Research Laboratories at Bangalore and Ghaziabad for undertaking fundamental research in futuristic areas so as to identify and realise latest technologies relevant to the company's products. The Central Research Laboratories have been emerging as first-class Research Laboratories by establishing close links with academic institutions and the manufacturing wings of the company. These Central Research Laboratories have been addressing the areas of Signal Processing, Computing, Radar & Communication Systems, Microwave Systems and Microelectronic packaging.
 

To achieve and sustain the highest levels of quality in all its areas of operation, BEL has adopted the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach. All the Divisions / Units of BEL have obtained ISO 9000 accreditation.
 

In order to channelise and disseminate the quality practices acquired over the years, BEL has established a Quality Institute during the year 1999-2000. The institute is imparting training on quality related issues to all the officers of BEL at middle and senior level. The institute is also engaged in the development of training modules on various quality related areas and conducts regular training programmes not only for BEL officers but also for Customer Agencies on a selected basis.
 

In addition to the supply of equipment to the Defence Services and the efforts to create a niche market in the civil sector, BEL has been giving a thrust to exports over the last one and a half decades. A variety of products are being exported to countries like Mauritius, USA, Hong Kong, Kenya, Austria, Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Israel, Nepal, Malaysia, Botswana, Brazil, etc. The products exported include Defence Communication Equipment, Components, Software, Batteries, Energy Saver Equipment and Optical Components. While BEL has achieved an exports turnover of Rs.31 crores (including deemed exports) during 1999-2000, it aims at reaching an exports turnover of Rs.40 crores during the year 2000-2001.
 

While BEL has been performing well on the financial front and receiving various awards in the areas of R&D, Safety, Professional Electronics, etc, it has also been faced with expected and unexpected challenges over the year. Factors such as liberalisation and globalisation have thrown open the Indian professional electronics market to all players. BEL met this challenge by measures such as product updation, diversification and cost reduction. The rapid obsolescence of electronic components, systems and equipment has been another major challenge, which is being met by BEL through its own R&D strength.
 

Besides the above expected challenges, measures such as US restrictions (and the consequent passive sanctions by some European countries) on some of the units of BEL in the post-Pokharan II years have thrown up unexpected challenges. BEL always found an opportunity in such challenges and tightened its belt by forming task forces to address such issues. By the persistent efforts of these task forces to identity alternate sources/components and redesigning of the sub-systems of equipment, where necessary, BEL could cope with the US sanctions and meet its commitments to the Defence Services to a large extent. The efforts initiated are being further progressed so as to progressively reduce BEL's dependence on imports from the US and other sanction imposing countries.

 
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

BEL has established a regular system of preparing and monitoring five year Roll-on-Plans (RoPs). These plans are prepared and reviewed twice a year to assess and ascertain the market / technology positions and to apply corrections to the plans on a continuous basis. These five year RoP exercises have turned out to be very successful and the plans have by and large been materialising.

In addition to the above, a Medium Term Perspectives Plan for 1998-99 to 2006-07 has also been drawn up with the Ministry of Defence with the active participation of the Army, Navy and Air Force. This plan is expected to provide greater levels of certainty for the growth of the company.