After a dip in its fortunes the Indian electrical industry has once again surfaced with a growth curve and that is what will give the forthcoming event highlighting the electrical industry - ELECRAMA-2014 - the required vibrancy and positivity

Numbers do impress, particularly so in the case of India's foremost exhibition for those engaged in the electrical equipment industry - ELECRAMA - which will be held in Bangalore from January 8 to 12, 2014. According to an estimate provided by the organisers, the Indian Electric and Electronic Manufacturers Association (IEEMA), the event will attract over 1,000 exhibitors and 1 lakh-plus business visitors from more than 100 foreign countries. Says Sanjeev Sardana, Chairman, Organising Committee: "ELECRAMA-2014 is poised for a quantum leap in terms of event experience, ambience, context, and commerce. Manufacturers, traders, utilities, consultants and decision makers from over 100 countries and market leaders with their latest products from the fields of power transmission and distribution, lighting, conservation, house and building automation will converge at this show."

Apart from the exhibition, the 11th edition will also play host to a slew of concurrent events. One of these will be the 'Utility Day' which will be a transmission and distribution conclave wherein the top utility heads of the country as well as the neighboring countries will interact with the Indian electrical equipment manufacturers. Also, 'Trafotech 2014' will provide transformer designers, manufacturers, users and consultants a common platform to review the latest advances and futuristic trends; share operational experiences; and discuss the requirements of transformers for smart grid systems. And the 'Reverse Buyer-Seller Meet' will allow participants from the African nations to meet over 1,000 suppliers from India, while the 'CEOs Summit' involving giants of the global electrical equipment industry will feature in a live panel discussion with eminent experts brainstorming on current challenges and opportunities in the transmission and distribution (T & D) sector. The event will also feature 'Engineer Infinite' to search for new talent in the field of electrical and allied engineering.

So what is it that makes the electrical equipment industry feel so upbeat despite the current economic slump? The answer probably lies in what the Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Farooq Abdullah, has said. "The per capita consumption of electricity in the country has increased from 566.69 kWh in 2002-03 to 883.63 kWh in 2011-12. As per census 2011, 92.7 per cent urban households and 55.3 per cent rural households in the country were using electricity as main source of lightning. The government is also encouraging the generation of electricity from various renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, small hydro, biomass by giving various fiscal and financial incentives." All this no doubt translates into huge potential for the manufacturers and suppliers of electrical equipment.

According to a press release issued by IEEMA, India's Rs 1.30 lakh crore electrical equipment industry has witnessed a 6 per cent growth in the first six months of 2013-14 due to a rise in domestic demand. "After a weak growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal, mainly on account of growth in exports, the second quarter has witnessed a growth of 9.8 per cent in the production of the electrical equipment industry due to a welcome rise in domestic demand. This has led to a moderate growth in the first half of FY 2013-14 as compared to the first half of FY 2012-13," the release adds. Some progress in power transmission and sub-station projects, power generating stations, especially renewable energy like wind, R-APDRP projects and orders from select core sectors like construction and real estate have helped register this growth.

Taking a more cautious stand though, Raj Eswaran, President, IEEMA, says, "The Indian electrical equipment industry has shown some revival in the first half of the current fiscal after a negative growth of 7.8 per cent in production in 2012-13. Domestic demand, coupled with increase in exports, has managed to keep the industry afloat. But the industry needs to build a robust export portfolio so that it can optimally utilise its built-up capacity which is currently under-utilised across all sub-sectors." The transformer industry, both power and distribution transformers, has seen a turnaround in growth from negative 4.5 per cent in the first quarter to 18.76 per cent reported in the second quarter of this fiscal. Power cable, capacitors, energy meters, transmission line towers, high-voltage switchgear have also improved their growth numbers.

Huge Target Ahead

India plans to increase the output of the electrical equipment industry to USD 100 billion by 2022 and become a destination of choice for overseas producers of such equipment. According to a media report, the size of the industry is valued at around USD 25 billion, a fourth of it made up of power generation equipment, and transmission and distribution contributing the rest. The target was outlined in a 2012-2022 mission plan for the electrical equipment industry released in December 2013 by the Ministry of Heavy Industry. "It is imperative to build our own industry to make it competitive for its global growth, also looking at ways and means to draw in more investment," said Praful Patel, Minister for Heavy Industry, who launched the plan. "The size of the sector is growing, and companies can pool their resources for investing in research and development for moving ahead," he added.

In a press release issued by IEEMA, the apex body said that increasing the focus on domestically made products can help double exports in the next three years. "The prospects of exports of 'Made in India' look good for domestic players and can help double exports in three years," says Sardana. Currently, Chinese products enjoy a market share of 45 per cent in the country's electrical equipment imports. "The quality of domestically manufactured products has improved in recent times. These products have seen a wider acceptance in international markets, especially in Africa and West Asian countries. We are working towards making India an export hub for electrical equipment," he adds. Exports' growth is also visible in developed countries like the US, Germany, Britain, Australia and Canada, apart from the UAE, Saudi Arab, Nigeria and Kenya. "This clearly shows the increasing acceptability of the Indian brand with desired quality and competitive cost in both developed and developing countries," Sardana points out.

Increasing Investments

The fact that the electrical equipment industry, and particularly the cable sector, indicates good potential ahead is borne out by the investments made by foreign companies in India. Two such cases are of Lapp Group and Leoni AG. One of the best known brands in the cable industry, Leoni has been expanding its global footprints with yet another plant in China and one in India. It opened its new plant at Chakan near Pune on May 8, 2013, from which it will distribute cables and cable systems to customers in various industries. The new plant has a production area of around 15,000 sq.m. "India promises attractive growth prospects for several of our targeted industrial markets," said Dr Klaus Probst, President and CEO, Leoni AG, adding, "Opening this new plant at Chakan is an essential move to better serve local customers and to drive our globalisation in India and close-by countries." The new plant began manufacturing standard automotive cables in early 2013 to meet the demands of the Indian automotive industry, which experts estimate will have an annual growth rate of about 12 per cent until 2016.

LAPP India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the LAPP Group based in Germany and globally one of the leading manufacturers of cables and other cabling solutions, completed the first phase of its second manufacturing plant in India last year. A total of Rs 150 crore has been invested to set up this four-phased cable manufacturing plant in Pilukedi, Rajgrah district of Bhopal. With an initial investment of Rs 50 crore, the first phase has started producing 1,000 km of single core cables daily, catering mainly to the building cable segment (BCS). Says Andreas Lapp, Chairman, LAPP Holding AG, "Expanding our operations in India has been a key focus for us at LAPP Group, mainly due to promising growth opportunities presented by the country. The market size for single core wires in the building segment today stands at approximately Rs 6,000 crore which indicates a large market opportunity in this sector."

Challenges & Solutions

As Praful Patel has pointed out, the Indian electrical industry's progress has been hampered by a slowdown in the entire power sector. He recently conceded that policy makers may have adopted a lopsided approach that may have exacerbated its problems. Imports have grown, especially from China, while exports have lagged. The power sector is also battling fuel shortages and problems in land acquisition and securing mandatory approvals, stalling several projects. As such, segments like conductors, low-voltage switchgear and rotating machines have further declined in the second quarter of FY 2013-14.

Further, the electrical equipment industry continues to face very severe credit availability, enormous delays in project execution and non-adherence of payment terms by customers, mainly power utilities, resulting in unmanageable cash flow problems across the industry. The depreciated rupee has made critical imported raw material and inputs for electric equipment more costly, but given the continued threat from imports of electrical equipment in the Indian market, domestic manufacturers are being forced to absorb this additional cost to remain competitive.

Given this scenario, experts in the industry feel that innovation and more research and development are the key factors to add momentum to the industry's pace. It is with this in mind that Schneider Electric, a France-based multinational corporation that specialises in electricity distribution, automation management and produces installation components for energy management, has now established one of its global technology centres in Bangalore, catering to the needs of emerging as well as mature economies. "We have a R&D centre with 1,000 people and a dedicated team to drive the development and deployment of 'India for India' offers," said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and CEO, Schneider Electric SA. The company is one of the brand ambassadors of ELECRAMA-2014.

In a recent interview to the media, Tricoire said that there is a need to make every installation safer and far more efficient while focusing on reliability and upgrading the grid to smart grid capabilities. "We need to invest in latest technologies and innovations to help customers make the most of their energy. All of these innovations will not just be suitable for India, but can also be useful in other countries," he added. As such, he believes that ELECRAMA-2014 will prove to be one of the major global forums, as well as the local event of reference, on India's electrical industry.

"Multifunction products with safety & reliability are key technological trends" - Chandmal Goliya, MD, Kusam-Meco

Kusam Electrical Industries Ltd, an ISO 9001: 2008 company, was established in the year 1983 for marketing Test & Measuring Instruments. In the 1980s use of digital test and measuring instruments was at a nascent stage and 90% of the multimeters and clampmeters used in the industry were analog meters. "Kusam-Meco" the brand, introduced and pioneered the use of digital multimeters and clampmeters in Indian industry. The company continues to introduce new products with unique features and protection to meet the current market demand and safety customers' diverse applications. Chandmal Goliya, Managing Director, Kusam-Meco, on the company's participation at Elecrama 2014 Are you planning any new product launch during Elecrama 2014? Yes, indeed. We are launching many new products such as solar power meter with orientation and tilt angle, low frequency field intensity meter, insulation tester with 15 kV output voltage, multifunction power analyser, vibration meter with sensor probe, infrared thermometers, temperature and humidity transmitters, digital multimeter with insulation tester, air purifiers, etc., at Elecrama 2014. What are the trends in the test and measuring instruments segment? Multifunction products with more safety features and reliability are the key technological trends that are driving the industry. New technologies in related fields demand the use of new and advanced instruments with higher capabilities. 'Kusam-Meco' has also introduced instruments with new features to meet this demand. What are your expectations from this event, and outlook for 2014? Elecrama is much awaited event every alternate year with hopes of new visitors to view our latest products, new enquiries leading to new business opportunities and long lasting business relations. Our vision is to make 'Kusam-Meco' the most trusted brand nationally as well as internationally.