The wire and cable market in India
was estimated at around Rs.15,000
crore in FY09. Of this, about
Rs.10,000 crore belongs to the organized
sector and the remaining belongs to the
unorganized sector as well as the regional
players. Further, the potential of the wire
market industry reached around
Rs.5,500 crore in FY09 and it was
estimated that CAGR for the past eight
years for wire & cable industry was
approximately 12 per cent.
In India, overall growth of cable
industry was less than 5 per cent in FY10
against the robust growth in FY09.
Further, FY10 and FY11 continued to be
challenging years for the industry mainly
due to liquidity crunch experienced by
the end-user industry sectors, in-turn
leading to reduced demand and causing
further delay in implementing of ongoing
and new projects.
Presently, the cable market for
infrastructure segment can be broadly
classified as follows:
- EHV cables ( 132kV and above )
- MV cables ( 11kV - 66kV )
- LV cables ( 3.3kV & 6.6kV )
- Distribution cables ( 1.1kV )
- Building wires
- Specialty cables
Most prominently growing segment is
that of extra high voltage and high voltage
cables, which is picking up fast and is
projected to double in the next three years.
In addition to the projected growth in
power generation and transmission, the
rapid pace of urbanization is also expected
to contribute to enhanced demand for
underground high voltage cable
installations in place of overhead lines.
In the medium and low voltage
power cable field, the growth is fuelled
by the boom in the realty and construction
sectors in addition to power and
industrial sectors.
Unfortunately, the cable industry
continues to be fragmented among the
organized sector and unorganized sector.
There is need for consolidation and to
bring in technology and quality
improvements which have sometimes
been sacrificed under the current intense
competitive pressure and consequent low
margins which are plaguing the industry.
This situation is not conducive to the longterm
health of the cable industry in India.
A large segment of low voltage cables is
composed of building wires whose market
is conservatively estimated at Rs.3,600
crore. Here, the industry is composed of a
few large units with thousands of small
units in the unorganized sector. In this
area, there is a pressing need for upgraded
wiring systems and modern
manufacturing technology to cater to
safety and reliability in this fast
expanding market. An encouraging sign is
the emergence of more discerning
customers with each passing year.
When we talk of safety in building wires
segment, the first thing that we think of is
the use of halogen free wires and cables.
Halogen-free wires are insulated with
special insulation material which is free of
halogens (namely chlorine, bromine,
fluorine and iodine). These halogens when
in contact with fire release huge amount of
toxic smoke and corrosive acids.
Sustained inhaling of these toxic smokes
by individuals can lead to injury or
breakdown of the nervous system, which
eventually may be fatal. Thus the usage of
halogen free wires and cables is the safest
for human life and equipment.
Also, nowadays, we are talking more
about fire survival cables particularly for
high rise buildings, hotels, hospitals, etc.
These cables conform to BS 6387 (fire
testing standards) and should withstand
950ºC for three hours with CWZ fire
rating. These cables are available in single
core up to 300 sqmm and multi-core up to
5C 25 sqmm for both control and power
applications, typically fire exhaust fans,
etc. These cables are also available with
shielding.
Use of quality halogen-free wires and
cables and fire survival cables for
building applications will certainly go a
long way in reducing possibilities of fire
accidents due to short circuits. Let us
build a safer tomorrow through
awareness and education.
(Muralidhar Rao is AGM Sales-
Building Connectivity Solutions, Lapp
India Pvt Ltd)