— Ms Neelam Kumar,
Executive Director, Aplab Ltd
Set up in 1962 by P.S. Deodhar, a visionary and celebrated
technocrat, Aplab is today India's leading T&M instrument company
with a range of import-substitute products.
Ms Neelam Kumar
takes us through the growth of Aplab's power sector-related T&M
business. She also gives valuable insights into the T&M industry,
which undoubtedly has an exciting future but also serious
challenges en route. India can gradually move up the value chain
only through a concerted attempt from stakeholders, she asserts.
An interview by
Venugopal Pillai.
To begin with, please summarize Aplab's range of T&M
equipment for the power sector. What have been recent
innovative product launches?
Aplab has a very wide range of products. Our extensive range of
products caters to every possible need. Some of them are for
the power sector, active differential probe, analog power
oscilloscope, DPS36000 series digital power oscilloscopes,
general oscilloscopes, multimeters, spectrum analyzers, power
clamp meters et al. These are only some of the most sought
after instruments from our company.
The digital power oscilloscope which was launched recently
is quite suitable for power testing including solar based
power systems.
The power sector is expected to see investment of 14 trillion in
the XII Plan period, with power T&D getting as much as 6.5
trillion. Given this, how do you gauge the demand for T&M
equipment and services in the years to come?
It is true that investment in power sector is growing due to
rising needs of growing population and on account of extensive
developments in rural India. These remain the government's
prime focus. We feel that testing tools for these sectors will
result into higher demand and one will see more investment in
this type of infrastructure.
How does Aplab plan to cater to T&M equipment related to EHV
and UHVAC transmission infrastructure?
At present we are in process of understanding equipment
requirements specifically meant for this type of industry. Our
focus is always to make Indian products for specific customized
Indian requirements.
We understand that when it comes to sophisticated T&M
equipment, India still needs to rely on imports. What is your view
and what are Aplab's plans of making import-substitute products?
It is absolutely true that we are still dependent on imports.
There are many reasons for this. The basic semiconductor
industry is not wholly present in India. This is creating major weakness as this remains the basic infrastructure for the
electronics industry.
We have to depend fully on imports. Sometimes this becomes
a major hurdle in the development of sophisticated products.
Aplab has so far managed to make indigenous products which
remain an economical substitute for imports, but we know
how difficult it becomes to bridge the gap in technology
covered by countries in the West and the Far-East.
Rudyard Kipling's refrain, "For East is east, and West
is west, and never the twain shall meet" remains a
call to action.
India can gradually move up the value chain only
if there is a concerted attempt from multiple
stakeholders to create active change. Aplab is a
committed organization that weathered the test of
time. We will disclose our plans in due course.
Experts feel that India's manufacturing base for
T&M equipment is very narrow. Except for
companies like Aplab and a few others, the
number of world-class companies is very
limited. What your opinion?
We feel that India in general has lost focus
on overall manufacturing sector. The
government does not have a clear focused
policy to encourage manufacturing industry. They
have taken careful steps to boost the software
industry but remain entrenched in a time warp
when it comes to the manufacturing industry.
Trouble intensified when cheaper Chinese
products flooded the market. This is the case
around the world, in different sectors. This is one of
the reasons very few players could make globally
competitive products. But we still feel that our
engineers and technicians have taken efforts to
make good quality products.
Within the power sector, what will be key demand
drivers for Aplab in the medium term?
As we have mentioned repeatedly, the situation is
being monitored regularly. We are developing
certain products suitable for development of solar based
electrical systems.
With shortage of other energy resources and
looking at costs and hazards with nuclear power
generation, solar energy is becoming a challenge for
Indian engineers. Besides this, India is in a tropical zone where
ample sunlight is available throughout the year except for
intermittent rain.
How has Indian T&M equipment been faring in the
exports market? What has been Aplab's performance in
recent years?
Many of our products such as psophometer,
selective level meter, function generator and
multifunction testing equipment et al are in
great demand for exports and business has
been growing every year.
How much of Aplab's T&M business caters to
power utilities? Do you see this proportion
changing in the years ahead?
Almost 40 per cent of our products are being
used by the power sector industry. We are
looking forward to growth in this sector and
with sophisticated test and measurement
products on the rise, we see ourselves growing
further by 20 to 30 per cent.
What is your view on manpower constraints in
the power T&M industry? Is this emerging as a
popular professional field for engineering
students?
There is overall shortage of trained manpower
in T&M industry be it in power or telecom, or in
any associated domain. Young engineering
graduates prefer to work with the software
industry where salaries and perks are higher and
work environment is "cushy & comfy" as
compared to manufacturing industry. So far we do
not see any encouraging change in this sector.
The test and measurement software arena does
see some engineering students interested to
learn on a fast track.
We perceive that test and measuring is no longer
an "equipment-driven" activity but nowadays
involves use of computer software and Internet based
applications. Please tell us more on this
phenomenon.
This depends on application and usage of T&M
equipment. However, the use of software and computers will be done only after the data is
collected in real-time. And for that,
equipment is required.
So it doesn't eliminate overall
requirements of measuring
equipment, in applications such as
ATS (automatic test setup) that is a
combination of hardcore equipment,
software, and Internet-based application for
using data in remote control and analysis. So
sometimes, certain equipments are merged in
common test set-ups and no longer exist as individual
equipment. Aplab's RF test set up is one such example.
Tell us more on the competition from China. Is
it significant?
Well, definitely. The industry loses business merely based
on price. However, we get the customers back after they
realize the importance of buying the product from Indian
manufacturers. But the process is long, intractable and you
should be capable of suffering such losses. This can
sometimes weaken the morale-especially of marketing
personnel on the field who interact with clients and
customers on a daily basis.
Aplab will soon complete 50 years of existence. Please
summarize the journey with respect to Aplab's T&M
business, and what are the major milestones that you would
like to see Aplab attaining in the years ahead?
Aplab, the company was established in 1962 by wellknown
technocrat, author and visionary P. S. Deodhar.
It was very soon that Aplab began providing
economical import substitutes to oscilloscopes and
other test and measurement equipment, along with
power supplies.
These substitutes were similar to what people
used to get from Europe and America. Well, this
helped strengthen Aplab's business and
image in India. Aplab also started supplying
many of its products in developed countries
such as Germany, UK, Australia, and
United States.
Even today Aplab is and remains a
proud supplier of indigenous
manufactured products from India
despite stiff completion from Chinese
suppliers (through stray traders) and
increased labour costs.
But this has bolstered Aplab's
confidence so that we can do much
better. In the 1990s, Aplab supplied
sophisticated equipment to telecom,
defense and space research sector.
With increased investment in the
education sector and power sectors, we
are looking forward to serve both these
sectors, and more with reliable,
economical and easy-to-use equipment.