Guided by a farsighted vision to make the country self-reliant in Defence electronics, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was set up in Bangalore in 1954 by the Government of India under the Ministry of Defence (MoD). From a humble beginning, BEL has come a long way. It is now a Navratna PSU and India’s foremost Defence electronics company.

BEL is a multi-product, multi-technology, multi-Unit conglomerate boasting of over 350 products in the areas of Radars, Missile Systems, Military Communications, Naval Systems, Electronic Warfare & Avionics, C4I Systems, Electro Optics, Tank Electronics & Gun/Weapon System Upgrades, Solar Photovoltaic Systems, Electronic Components and civilian products. The gamut of products includes small components costing a few rupees to huge systems costing crores of rupees. With its expertise developed over the years, the company also provides turnkey systems solutions. While Defence continues to contribute to nearly 80 to 85% of its revenue, BEL has touched a chord with the common man through civilian products like solar traffic signals and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). BEL’s reliable and tamper-proof EVMs have redefined voting in India, facilitating free and fair elections. BEL’s customers include the Army, Navy, Air Force, Paramilitary, Coast Guard, Police, Doordarshan, All India Radio, Department of Telecommunications and consumers of professional electronic components.

Research & Development has been one of BEL’s core strengths, helping it maintain it’s pre-eminence in Defence electronics. The Company has been spending about 8% of its turnover on R&D. BEL has extensive infrastructure — its manufacturing network is spread over 9 Units located across the country. BEL provides after sales support whenever and wherever required, irrespective of time or terrain. For instance, its support to the Defence forces during the Kargil operation was well appreciated.

Highlights of 2015-16

BEL registered a growth of 12% in 2015-16. The Company recorded a sales turnover of Rs. 7,522 crores in 2015-16 as compared to Rs. 6,695 crores in the previous year. The Profit Before Tax was Rs.1,809 crores for 2015-16 as against Rs 1,467 crores in 2014-15. The Profit After Tax was Rs.1,358 crores for 2015-16 as against Rs 1,167 crores in 2014-15. Exports registered a growth of 47% as the turnover increased from US $58 Million in 2014-15 to US $85 Million in 2015-16. The Turnover Per Employee was Rs.76.38 lakhs. The Value Added per Employee was Rs. 33.49 lakhs. BEL has an Order Book value of Rs.32,022 crores as on April 1, 2016. An important milestone of the year was the induction of the Akash Missile System into Indian Air Force and Indian Army.

Major Orders Executed

Some of the significant orders executed during 2015-16 include supply of Akash Weapon System (Indian Army & Indian Air Force), 3-D Tactical Control Radar (Army), Schilka Upgrade (Army), Passive Night Vision Devices (Army), Low Level Light Weight Radar (Air Force), Fire Control System (Navy), Integrated Sonar Suite (Navy), Ship Data Network (Navy), New Generation Sonars (Navy) and L Band Surveillance Radar for Export (Myanmar).

Business Initiatives

New Business Initiatives taken include laying the foundation stone for a new Defence Systems Integration Complex at Anantapur district to expand the Missile Systems business and another state-of-the-art Advanced Night Vision Products Factory at Nimmaluru village in Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh.

Make In India Initiatives

BEL has been doing it bit to promote the Government’s Make in India initiative. BEL is focusing more on core areas and R&D, even as all non-core areas are being outsourced to Indian industries including MSMEs. A long-term Outsourcing & Indigenisation Policy has been released. Nodal officers for outsourcing and vendor development have been nominated. Annually, around 800 new indigenous vendors are added.

Outlook For The Future

BEL will continue its indigenisation efforts in keeping with ‘Make in India’ initiative. Radars, Missile Systems, Communication & Network Centric Systems, Tank Electronics, Gun Upgrades, Electro-Optic Systems and Electronic Warfare & Avionics Systems to drive BEL’s growth. The Company is pursuing business opportunities in solar energy, homeland security, smart cards and telecom. Strategies and action plans are in place to face competition, maintain technological edge and retain leadership position in strategic electronics.  

Awards

• Dun & Bradstreet ‘India’s Top 500 Companies’ Award 
• Dun & Bradstreet India’s ‘Top PSU Award 2016’ in the ‘Manufacturing: Medium & Light Engineering Sector’ category
• India Skill Award 
• Karnataka State Export Excellence Award 
• Excellence Award for Official Language Implementation 
• Dainik Bhaskar India Pride Awards
• Governance Now PSU Awards in the categories of Technology Adoption, Environmental Sustainability and Research & Development (Navratna) 
• IEI Industry Excellence Award 
• PSE Excellence Award
• 3rd elets PSU Summit Award