TCE's transfer is being undertaken "for certain operational reasons", say sources, but neither the division's value nor the entity to which it is proposed to be transferred is known. A faxed questionnaire regarding the said proposal did not elicit response from the Tata group's communications department.

Insiders say that TCE will possibly be transferred to Tata Electric Companies given the fact that the engineering division has been closely associated with power development for over 30 years.

TCE has carried out engineering and implementation of power units up to 500mw, and the division's share in the installed capacity of thermal-power units is over 30 per cent. This is inclusive of 200 thermal units, commissioned or under installation, with an aggregate generating capacity of over28,000mw. Till date, the company has completed more than 2,000 assignments in India and abroad.

TCE's other businesses include engineering services in power chemicals, industrial water supply and sewerage, ports and harbours, special projects, computer-based projects like training simulators and telecommunications.

The division is exploring new operational avenues relating to infrastructure, including independent power projects, build-own-operate-transfer projects, and as associates to EPC contractors.

The division is registered with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Kreditanstalt Furwiederaufbau, World Health Organization and United Nations' subsidiary agencies. It has executed a large number of projects aided by these institutions in the country and abroad.