Us Blasts Spell Boom For Security Industry

The Rs 140 crore Indian electronic security industry seems to be the only sector which is reaping the benefits of the crisis in the US following the aircraft attacks there.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), stock exchanges across the country, headquarters of banks and institutions, airports, airlines and consulate buildings to name a few are gearing up to put in place the latest security devices available without losing time.

As a result of this trend, leading players in electronic surveillance systems -- Eurovigil of Eureka Forbes, Zicom, Tata Honeywell and Datamatics -- have received numerous proposals from corporates and financial entities.

Corporate India accounts for 80 per cent of turnover of the electronic security industry which shows a 25 per cent annual growth. Individual investments in security, depending upon various factors, is anywhere between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore.

"After the attacks on the World Trade Centre, everyone is talking of security in a big way," said Eureka Forbes general manager Suresh Menon.

There has been enhanced demand from sensitive high rise buildings for voice-activated evacuation systems, which prevent creation of panic. In the case of the World Trade Centre crisis, many occupants in the buildings were saved with public address system telling one which lifts are safe to use, pointed out Menon.

Banks and corporates, especially software companies whose critical asset is the server farms, are going for biometric systems to safeguard against unlawful entry. "Increasingly demand is for biometric security systems where swiping of cards has become pass