Ajanta Group mulls foray into LED lighting

Having crossed the Rs 1,000 crore turnover mark on the back of clocks, electric bikes and calculators, among other things, the Ajanta Group is now mulling foray into LED lighting systems. While commercial production may still take some time, the company has begun the R&D work on the technology.

"Around 50 per cent of our revenue comes from consumer electronics and the rest 50 per cent from household electrical goods. We have been manufacturing lamps and tubelights, not to mention household circuit breakers and switches. The next move will be foray into LED. The research and development on the LED-related technology has already begun from our side. However, it will take some time before we begin commercial production," said Jaysukh Patel, managing director, Ajanta Group.The group already manufactures switches, wires, multi circuit breakers (MCBs), lamps, tubelights, power savers, telephones, calculators and watches, to name a few.

According to Patel, demand for LED lighting systems is still at a nascent stage in India. "The power consumption in LED lighting uses direct current and saves 80 per cent more power as compared to compact fluorescent light (CFL) technology. But price plays a major role in lighting systems as in any other product's case.

Retail prices for LED lighting are yet to come down as there are hardly any manufacturing units of indicator circuit (IC) for LED lighting systems. Once such manufacturing picks up in the country, the prices will come down and will boost the demand," Patel added. Being a group offering value-for-money products instead of premium, Ajanta is prepared to wait to offer LED lighting at affordable prices in the country. Meanwhile, the Rs 1,000 crore group expects a 15 per cent growth for the financial year 2010-11, Patel added.