Bennett, Coleman buys 15% in UPTEC

UPTEC, a 13-year-old IT company that uses "technology for learning purposes", has created a stir in the IT circles in the state.

Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd has picked up a 15 per cent stake for Rs 5 crore at Rs 1,714 a share (face value of Rs 10). This major development took place a few months ago. When asked, Managing Director Upendra Kumar remained non-committal.

But informed sources told Business Standard the deal, effected a few months ago, had given a major boost to UP's IT industry, in general, and computer training companies, in particular, which have been investing in intellectual capital.

Thus, industry sources point out companies in a state like UP had not properly evaluated the intellectual capital which they had built over the years. The small capital base and relatively small turnover are no deterrents. Even with these, strong companies can be built.

UPTEC was established in 1993, with an amount of about a little more than Rs 10 lakh. Since then it gave dividends regularly till 2003, after which it skipped paying for three years, ploughing back the profits in the company.

It resumed paying dividends this year. Its turnover is likely to cross Rs 30 crore this year with revenue coming from IT training, hardware & networking solutions, content development, and software services.

Its current student strength is about 10,000 and 50,000 students have passed out of its ten centres in Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Noida. The latest offering from UPTEC is e-learning and e-testing.

The company is finally testing its interactive e learning, developed in-house, and it will be launched this summer in at least three subjects. It will not be a degree, because for a full course a student requires to clear 25 subjects.

All the company's courses have won the ISO 901-2000 certificate for all education centres and allied services, including management education.