P Sudhakar

Biz@India

June 2016

Setting Benchmarks for Defence

P Sudhakar, CMD, Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL)

Established in 1967, government run Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) harnesses its expertise in electronics and communication technology to meet India’s Defence needs on land, air and sea.

Being nearly 50 years in the industry, how has the journey of ECIL been?

ECIL is widely recognised as a trailblaser in electronics and Information Technology in India and pioneered a number of products and technologies. These include solid state television ECTV, digital computer, cockpit voice recorder popularly known as Black Box, automatic data handling system, programmable logic controller, deep space network antenna and the electronic voting machine. With products ranging from miniature components to complex systems and encompassing control, communication and computer technologies, ECIL’s technology edifice stands on the firm foundations of Research and Development (R&D) enriched by close collaborations with the leading research laboratories and academic institutions of India. It is today a multi-product, multi-disciplinary enterprise providing cutting edge technology solutions to the defence sector. ECIL has a human resource pool of over 2,500 personnel with a turnover of over USD 200 million (EUR 175 million) for the last few years with consistent profits.

ECIL has modern infrastructure for design, manufacture, assembly, testing and qualification of equipment and systems comprising of mechanical, electronic and software components. Facilities include CAD (Computer Aided Design), ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit)/VLSI (Very- Large-Scale Integration) design, high density interconnect PCB (Printed Circuit Board) manufacturing facility, automatic SMD (Surface Mounted Device) insertion machines, on line PCB test equipment, environment testing and calibration laboratories, hangers for vehicle based systems integration, antenna test range and EMI (electromagnetic interference)/ EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) test lab.

As a manufacturer and supplier of equipment to defence, ECIL has established robust and rigorous quality systems, aligning with the needs of specific sectors.

How has been your contribution to the Indian defence sector?

ECIL harnesses its expertise in electronics and communication technologies to meet India’s defence needs on land, sea and air. It has set benchmarks for the quality and reliability of its tactical and strategic radio communication products. The capability encompasses designing and manufacturing of digital transmission systems and radio communication products for a diverse set of military applications. ECIL is also the leading one-stophouse for electronic warfare and integrated COMINT (Communications Intelligence) solutions in India, having installed such systems across the length and breadth of the country. The company’s strength is reinforced by its long and productive collaborations with leading research labs of India and satisfied users in the military.

India’s light combat aircraft, Tejas, flies ECIL’s antenna platform unit, a stabilised multi-mode radar

ECIL is a proud partner in India’s missile and aerospace programs. Collaborative (R&D) with Indian defence labs have resulted in development and deployment of indigenous C4I solutions for the ground support systems of missiles. These skill set is backed by our automatic data handling system for air-defence automation and real-time networking of radars for the Indian Air Force (IAF). India’s light combat aircraft, Tejas, flies ECIL’s built antenna platform unit, a stabilised platform for the multimode radar. ECIL has built-up a vibrant development program for the realisation of indigenous active radar seekers for various missiles required for Indian Missile Programme.

ECIL is India’s fuze company – with field proven quality and ample manufacturing capacity. ECIL manufactures a wide range of electronic fuzes for the guns of the Artillery and Navy. They include proximity fuze, point detonation and time fuzes. The universal electronic fuze currently being supplied to the Indian armed forces is a state-of-theart fuze.

What are your on-going programmes in the Defence?

ECIL, in association with Indian research labs, designed and developed advanced C4I systems and has made a mark in the segment of ground support systems for missile programmes. ECIL developed technologies like rugged fault tolerant hardware, secure redundant communication systems, VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminals) systems, command control software, real time embedded OS (Operating System), data archival reporting software, GIS (Geographical Information System) applications and mission planning software.

ECIL has successfully proven the design concept of seeker to be used in missile programmes and built core competencies in the vital areas of radio frequency and microwave, radar signal processing, control and stabilisation, precision manufacture, assembly, integration, testing and characterisation of seekers. ECIL is currently engaged in the pilot production of seekers required for various programs.

ECIL developed Synchros and Gyros that are being used in gun control system for T-72 and BMP II vehicles and supplying them for the current requirements of the Indian army. In addition to these, ECIL is making actuators and linear variable differential transformers required for various programs.

How do you promote ECIL’s products overseas? Are you planning to supply overseas?

Indian market is one of the biggest markets for our defence products and systems and we are primarily catering to the needs of the Indian armed forces. However,we are keen to supply our products and systems overseas in the near future.

Are you open to public private partnership or joint-venture with the private sector?

Yes. ECIL is already working with the private sector in a big way for components and sub-systems that we integrate into our defence projects mentioned above.

What is your degree of collaboration with overseas companies?

ECIL has technology tie-ups with a few overseas companies and these partnerships have proven quite fruitful for us and our partners. We believe in the government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign with technical support from our overseas partners.

What are your expansion plans?

We are building state-of-the-art manufacturing and testing facilities, of about 60,000 square feet, at one of our factories so that we can cater to the upcoming programmes of the military. Based on the experience and expertise gained over the years in the design, development, manufacturing and life cycle support of defence products and systems, ECIL is poised for rapid growth, capitalising on the growth in the Indian Defence sector.

We are also looking for entering into global market in a big way. By 2020, we want to be a global leader in niche defence technologies.