GNFC hopeful of major Defence contract

By Manas Dasgupta

BROACH (GUJARAT), NOV. 13. The State-owned Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers Company (GNFC), which has made significant diversification into information technology, is confident of bagging a major contract from the Defence Ministry for the supply of mobile communication vans for use in difficult and remote terrains.

According to Mr. A. L. Vidyasagar, executive director, GNFC-IT division, top defence officials were satisfied with the GNFC's presentations of the mobile communication vans but had suggested some suitable modifications to suit its purpose. Though the mobile units are already small, mounted on conventional jeeps or such vehicles, the defence department wants still lighter weight and smaller vehicles which could be easily put inside a helicopter for carrying to snow-bound areas of Leh and Laddakh and other difficult terrains. It also has other specific requirements to be incorporated in the mobile vans.

The GNFC mobile vans operating through satellite communication system are claimed to be `technologically better and offer more space saving' than the couple of other satellite mobile van manufacturers in the country. Mr. Vidyasagar said GNFC was expected to get orders for 30 to 70 such mobile vans in the first instalment.

The mobile van is a part of GNFC's major foray in the information technology sector having already become the largest Internet bandwidth provider in the State with its international gateway of Internet.

GNFC Online which provides Internet services on dial up, ISDN, wireless, terrestrial lease line and on V-SAT as well as broadband V-SAT services, has captured the market quickly serving Internet bandwidth to leading Internet service providers, corporate houses and the government organisations and others with educational institutions being its major subscribers. Leading universities, engineering colleges, polytechnics and ITIs as well as some spiritual institutions are among its customers. During the current year, it hopes to earn a revenue of about Rs. 25 crores from the IT sector alone. But in its prime task, manufacturing fertilizers and chemicals, GNFC's performance was not just as bright primarily because of the Central Government's failure to decide on a long term policy in this sector. As explained by its chairman, Mr. Pradipsinh Jadeja, and the managing director, Mr. A. D. Desai, while the chemicals industries had been hit by the ``general recession in the international market, we could not take any investment decisions on the fertilizers sector in the absence of a long term policy by the Central Government."

It has also been put at a disadvantage due to the government's gas supply policy. While multinational companies in the Gulf countries are being supplied gas by Iraq at less than a dollar per one million units, to GNFC the Gandhar gas costs more than $2.30. In addition, prices of methanol in the international market has dropped to a mere $105 per tonne this year from $212 last year. ``How can we compete in the open market," Mr. Desai pointed out.

A leading manufacturer of ascetic acid, formic acid and methanol, GNFC was also hit hard by the continuous drought in the State and several other parts of the country in the last three years causing a glut in fertilizers. ``We are on solid grounds and can survive a couple of bad years," Mr. Desai said, but he has no answer if the dark days are prolonged beyond the ``couple of years." ``Hopefully it will not," is all that he could say.

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Section  : Business
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