BEL reasserts Infallibility and Robustness of Electronic Voting Machines

In the wake of increasing allegations of electronic voting machines (EVMs) being tampered with and news of their malfunctioning in the world’s largest democracy, state-run Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has said that the EVMs have gained the confidence of the people and are time-tested with foreign countries expressing interest in using them.

EVMs and voter verifiable paper audit trail machines (VVPATs) in India are manufactured by BEL and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL). BEL and ECIL are the only two companies supplying EVMs to the Election Commission of India (EC).

BEL chairman and managing director MV Gowtama said that losing political parties tended to blame EVMs for their loss and that it was a case of ‘sour grapes.’ He said that the machines could malfunction due to different reasons but were non-tamperable.

BEL has started increasing the number of tests on its EVMs and is working on continuous improvement. The EVMs currently cost around INR 10,000. BEL, which is known for producing military-grade equipment, can reduce failure rate and increase availability of the EVMs. However this would result in a cost escalation of over three times the present cost.

Indian made EVMs were used in elections in Namibia and Nepal has also expressed interest in using them. BEL is keen to export EVMs, however the exported EVMs would have an embedded architecture different from the ones used in India. Officials of the company indicated that EVMs could be built to suit different electoral systems, like proportional representation where parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them.

VVPATs were introduced as a confidence building measure. The Election Commission has decided to deploy VVPATs in all elections henceforth. This would translate to matching order quantities for VVPATs and EVMs to BEL and ECIL.

BEL has supplied 200,000 EVMs last fiscal and expects to supply 500,000 this fiscal. The company has a INR 3500 crore (35 billion) order for EVMs and VVPATs. BEL has scaled up production capacity of EVMs to around 50,000 units per month across 7 units.

Financial Highlights for 2017–18

• Registered a turnover growth of 14% over previous year
• Supply commenced for Ground Based Mobile ELINT System and Battlefield Surveillance System
• Inauguration of BEL developed Online Inventory Management System for Indian Navy
• Excellent “MoU” Rating for 2016–17
• Turnover from indigenous technology is 89%
• Sales from Defence business is 85%

The decrease in profitability is attributed to the company’s compliance with the third pay revision commission notification, buy-back of shares that resulted in reduced cash reserves and decreased earnings from interest, and the increase in tax (GST) from 24 to 28 percent.

Export Performance

• Achieved Export sales of US $ 26 Million
• Major products include Coastal Surveillance System, CoMPASS, Advanced Composite Communication System, Electro Mechanical parts etc.
• Export order book of US $ 92 Million as on April 1, 2018; includes Offset order book of US $ 35 Million
• Raksha Mantri award for Best Performance in Exports for the year 2015–16
• Participated in 3 International Exhibitions to showcase products & capabilities

Export Revenue impacted

BEL witnessed a drop in export revenue, from $ 65 million in 2016–17 to $ 26 million in 2017–18.

This plunge in export revenue this fiscal was attributed to the non-delivery of $ 30 million worth of import-substitution equipment, which is considered as deemed exports.

About $ 30 million worth of equipment was produced by BEL based on orders given by Reliance Defence, however financial constraints prevented the company from opening LCs (Letter of Credit) for delivery. The inspection authority — DGQA has accepted the system. Now BEL is exploring options to get the navy to directly take delivery of the produced equipment. Reliance Naval and Engineering (earlier known as Reliance Defence/Pipavav) had placed orders worth about $ 110 million on BEL for equipment to be installed in naval offshore patrol vessels (Project 21 NOPVs). The $30 million order is part of this larger order. It constitutes buyer nominated equipment to the manufacturers of the platform.

The company’s thermal wepon sights have been accepted by IWI, Israel and Beretta, Italy.

BEL has been invited for commercial and technical negotiations with Oman for the supply of Coastal Surveillance systems.

R&D Initiatives

• Successful test firing of indigenous RF Seekers (developed along with DRDO) for Akash 1S Missile System
• Successful test flight of Rustom II drone (Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle — MALE UAV) developed along with DRDO
• BEL has signed LATOTs with DRDO and many in pipeline
• Future thrust areas are: Cognitive & Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cyber Security, Cloud Computing & Data Analytics, Image Analytics, etc

Major Orders Executed

Some of the significant orders executed during the year include supply of the following products / systems: Integrated Air Command & Control System ; Fire Control System ; L70 Gun Upgrade ; Akash Weapon System ; Weapon Locating Radar ; Electronic Fuze ; Electronic Voting Machine ; Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail ; Schilka Upgrade ; 3D Tactical Control Radar ; Hand Held Thermal Imager with Laser Range Finder ; Battle Field Surveillance System ; Advanced Composite Communication System ; Submarine Sonar Suite (USHUS 2) ; Ship Based EW System (Varuna) ; Ground Based Elint

New Products

Some of the new products / systems introduced during the year are: Ground Based Mobile Elint System ; Lynx U2 for SNF and P15 ; Radio on the Move for QRSAM ; Advanced Composite Communication System for P15B ; Ship Data Network for P16A ; Multi Purpose Reflex Weapon Sight ; Universal Lab Test Rig for Radar Warning Receiver ; Mine Field Recording System ; Electronic Voting Machine Mk II ; Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail Mk II

Major Orders Received

During the year 2017–18, the Company received many orders. Significant among these orders include: Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail ; Commander Thermal Imager Sights for T72 ; Commander Thermal Imager Sights for BMP ; Low Intensity Conflict EW System ; Hull Mounted Sonar for P71 ; Electronic Voting Machine ; Surveillance Radar Element ; Strategic Communication System ; Integrated Mobile System ; Compact Multi-Purpose Advanced Stabilized System (CoMPASS)

Manufacturing Initiatives

• Advanced EMC Testing Facilities of size 11m x 21m x 30m which can conduct testing of Systems / Platforms weighing up to 70 Tonnes.
• Near Field Antenna Test Range (NFTR) facility at for calibration and testing of Radars and communication antennas
• Established High level Shock Testing Facility capable of imparting mechanical shocks up to 120g level for equipment weighing up to 800 kg
• Secured Manufacturing Test facility established for production of EVMs and VVPATs
• State-of-the-art Electronic Artillery Fuze manufacturing

New Business Initiatives

• Acquiring land at High tech Defence & Aerospace Park at Devanahalli for pursuing business in areas like Satellite Integration, Space Electronics, Unmanned Systems, etc
• Engagement with potential Strategic Partners (identified by MoD) in the areas of aircrafts, tanks and submarines
• Dedicated Business vertical to address Cyber Security, Unmanned Systems and Composites
• Thrust on exports, offset and contract manufacturing
• Expanding Global presence with new overseas offices
• Progress on diversification initiatives of BEL in the areas of Homeland Security & Smart City Business, Ammunition Fuzes and RF Seekers have been satisfactory. BEL is having revenue inflow in these areas

QUALITY INITIATIVES

• All Units / SBUs certified for ISO 9001 QMS & ISO 14001–2004 EMS standards
• Seven Units / SBUs certified for AS 9100 Aerospace standard & 4 Units / SBUs under process for AS 9100 Certification
• Central Software Development Group at Bangalore Complex is CMMi level 5 certified and Central Research Laboratory at Ghaziabad is CMMi level 3 certified
• 23 Engineers participated in ‘Robust Engineering Quality’ Program conducted by Shin Taguchi from Japan
• Total 226 engineers certified as CRE (Certified Reliability Engineers) and 176 engineers as CQE (Certified Quality Engineers) 20 engineers as CSQE (Certified Software Quality Engineers) and 61 Executives as CMQOE (Certified Manager of Quality for Organizational Excellence) by American Society of Quality (ASQ)
• 454 PMPs (Project Management Professionals) are certified by Project Management Institute till date

MAKE IN INDIA INITIATIVES

• 89% of Sales Revenue from Indigenous technology

• BEL is focusing more on core areas and R&D, all non-core areas are being outsourced to Indian Industries including MSMEs

• Outsourcing and Vendor Development Policy has been released

• “Make in India” Display Cells established in all Units of BEL

• Nodal officers for Outsourcing & Vendor development nominated

• Complied with Public Procurement Policy

• BEL’s Test facilities are being provided to Private vendors

HR INITIATIVES

• Inauguration of Nalanda : BEL Academy of Excellence (BAE)

• Release of 3 year Training Plan of BAE in technology, leadership and quality domains

• Company-wide per capita training man days was 5.1 during 2017–18

• Commencement of in-house EDP programs

• Record PMP certification during the year (141 certified)

• Programmes on Contract Law and Contract Management, Negotiation Skills

ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES

• All 9 Units of BEL are ISO 14001 (Environmental Standard) certified

• Well-established Environmental Management System with pollution control measures, Waste Water Treatment, Zero Effluent Discharge, Rainwater Harvesting, Energy Conservation and proper disposal of Hazardous Waste

• With a total capacity of 13.9 MW wind energy plants, 258 Lakh units generated has been wheeled during 2017–18

• Green energy generated during 2017–18 is about 283 Lakh units

• Green Building concept has been introduced in all new buildings, and all future buildings will meet Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) rating compliance

• BEL has taken up sustainable development initiative for retrofitting of conventional lightning to LED lighting system

• In addition energy conservation measures such as efficient VRV AC systems & screw chiller, DALI (Digitally Addressable Lighting Interface) Lighting control system are introduced