- Growth Blueprint mantra Indigenisation, R&D and Strategic Partnerships
Bangalore.10February2025. “Roadmaps have been created for the development of future products and technologies, creation of IPRs and acquisition of key technologies. This will enable us to stay at the cutting-edge of technology and meet our customer’s evolving requirements with cost-effective and innovative solutions,” said Manoj Jain, Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in an exclusive interview with Aviation & Defence Universe (ADU).
ADU. Can you tell us how BEL is helping the Government realise the dream of an Atmanirbhar Bharat?
CMD BEL. BEL, since inception, has been working towards achieving self-reliance. Responding to the clarion call by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, BEL has recalibrated its efforts and is strongly promoting the Government’s Make in India initiative by laying strong thrust on in-house R&D and indigenisation, Public-Private Partnerships, Joint Ventures, capacity expansion and modernisation.
The Akash Air Defence Weapon System of BEL is a great success story and shining example of BEL’s indigenous design, development and manufacturing drive. The Coastal Surveillance System developed by BEL for the Indian Coast Guard is now being offered to other friendly countries as well as for generating export business. The Weapon Locating Radar, developed indigenously by BEL and DRDO lab LRDE, and its lighter version designed for surveillance in mountainous and high-altitude terrains are proving to be game-changers for India’s military.
To ensure that we stay at the forefront of innovation, we invested 6.24% of our turnover in R&D last year and, as a result, achieved 77% of our turnover in FY 2023-24 from indigenous products. Increasing the level of indigenisation of its products and systems has not only given BEL long-term competitive advantage but also helped in aligning itself with the country’s dream of achieving Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in Defence.
ADU. How do you see BEL making an impact in the domestic Defence and non-defence markets in coming years and what are your strategies to retain leadership position in these sectors?
CMD BEL. BEL has maintained a decent mix of Defence and Non-Defence business in its overall business portfolio. In the Indian Defence Electronics segment, we continue to hold a significant market share based on our deep understanding of customer’s needs and our ability to fulfil it. As the technology landscape continues to evolve in Defence sector, our concerted efforts in building state-of-the-art, innovative products and solutions have helped us in being the preferred partner of our armed forces.
BEL is actively participating in the MoD’s Make-I, Make-II and Make-III projects involving indigenous solution development with emphasis on Sub-Systems, Systems and Services for which capabilities and competencies already exist. Further, BEL is also actively investing to develop new capabilities as needed. Opportunities are being explored to build long-term relationships with defence industry participants.
Diversification across products, segments, customers, industries and geographies remains an important focus area to unlock new opportunities and scale growth. This includes growing the Non-Defence business where we see significant prospects, especially in metro, civil aviation and cyber security areas. We will continue to build on our existing competencies and diversify to newer areas. Additionally, we are pursuing opportunities to expand our customer base in the existing and new geographies.
Though competition continues to intensify in our major business segments, our laser sharp focus in delivering our brand promise of Quality, Technology & Innovation to our customers gives us a distinct competitive advantage. This will continue to remain our guiding business mantra for retaining leadership in our core business segments.
ADU. Please tell us about your company’s financial performance, turnover, order book position, etc…
CMD BEL. BEL has always been a profit-making PSU despite various challenges including stiff competition. FY 2023-24 saw the company achieve a record turnover of Rs. 19,819.93 Crore as against Rs. 17,333.37 Crore in FY 2022-23, thereby registering a growth of 14.35%. The growth was driven by strong performances across all segments. Defence contributed to 81% of revenue in FY 2023-24 with the balance 19% coming from the Non-Defence segment. Profit after Tax grew by 33.7% to Rs. 4,020 Crore in FY 2023-24 as against Rs. 3,007 Crore in FY 2022-23.
BEL also continued the momentum in order acquisition by booking highest ever annual order inflow of Rs. 35,046 Crore during FY 2023-24. Headed into FY 2024-25, we expect order acquisition in the range of Rs. 25,000 Crores. The company’s order book position as on January 1, 2025, stands at around Rs. 71,000 Crore, giving it stable revenue visibility. While we participate in new orders, we will be sharply focussed on the timely execution of the existing order book. Our near-term aim is to get an entry into the Maharatna club of PSUs. Towards this, we are targetting a healthy revenue growth of double digits driven by the expansion of both Defence and Non-Defence businesses.
BEL won many noteworthy awards and recognitions for its multidimensional excellence, including the prestigious ‘CII EXIM Bank Award for Business Excellence (2023)’ for Hyderabad Unit, ‘Karnataka State Export Excellence Award’, Economic Times ‘Iconic Brand of the Year Award – 2023′, ‘Employee Excellence Award’ from Times Group, Institution of Engineers (India) ‘Industry Excellence (Gold) Award for Business Excellence’, ‘Project of the Year – Large Category (Runner Up) Award’ from Project Management Institute, Indian Chamber of Commerce ‘PSE Excellence Awards’, Governance Now PSU Awards, National Export Excellence Award, etc.
ADU. What is your vision for taking BEL on a fast-track growth path in coming years?
CMD BEL. Its well acknowledged that fast track growth is basically the outcome of super synchronised functioning of various key business functions including R&D, Marketing, Operations, HR, Finance, etc. Our concerted focus has been towards streamlining each of these business functions to set a strong foundation for BEL to deliver fast track growth. Alongside our existing business segments, various high growth areas (like Arms & Ammunitions, AI, Cyber Security, Unmanned Systems, Rail & Metro) have been identified and a resilient business model is being worked upon to deliver sustained growth in these emerging segments.
Innovation has been the cornerstone of our success and our customers can rest assured that BEL will continue to develop innovative and quality products for them through collaborations with DRDO labs, research & premier academic institutions, and niche technology players. We will continue to build on our existing competencies and diversify into newer areas. Opportunities abound, we also remain watchful of the challenges brought by geopolitical situations, emerging technologies, regulatory changes and evolving customer expectations. We will remain agile to effectively navigate them and ensure steady growth path.
Roadmaps have been created for the development of future products and technologies, creation of IPRs and acquisition of key technologies. This will enable us to stay at the cutting-edge of technology and meet our customer’s evolving requirements with cost-effective and innovative solutions.
As told to Sangeeta Saxena
