Keltec now under BrahMos' fold

Kerala industry logged on to historic space today with the signing of the deed to hand over state-owned public sector undertaking, Kerala Hitech Industries Ltd (Keltec), to the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace.

At a function attended by state minister for industries Elamaram Kareem, principal secretary for industries T Balakrishnan handed over the deed document to A Sivathanu Pillai, chief executive and managing director of BrahMos Aerospace.

With the takeover, Keltec will be renamed as BrahMos Aerospace (Trivandrum) Ltd and will function as a joint venture of the Government of India and the Russia. A capital infusion of Rs 125 crore is expected in the new venture in which the Defence Research and Development Organisation will have a majority stake.

Speaking at the event, Elamara Kareem said the formal transfer of Keltec to BrahMos is expected to take place on January 1, 2008. The occasion will have the presence of defence minister A K Antony and Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan among others.

"This apart, the takeover would mean better times for the employees of the Keltec," the minister said. All employees, including non-regular staff, would be absorbed into BrahMos Aerospace (Trivandrum) Limited and would be eligible for higher pay scales than what they currently draw.

The take over of Keltec by BrahMos is also expected to change the course of Kerala industry in such a way that related investment would flow into the industrial scene in the state, it has been pointed out.

The new entity would continue building equipment for its present clients like ISRO, DRDO, BARC and the like, apart from manufacturing strategic components used in the most-modern supersonic cruise missiles being deployed by the Army, Navy and the IAF.