Himachal Futuristic group chairman Mahendra Nahata said the division will offer information technology solutions for telecom equipment manufacturers, telecom service providers and service industry covering large corporations.

"This is line with our plans to become a `concept to completion' company offering a complete product range for the telecom industry," he added. Nahata expects the new project to be a significant contributor to the company's bottomline. "We hope to achieve at least Rs 40 crore from this division alone in the next financial year," he said.

The software division is developing solutions for network management, operations support systems, computer telephony integration and business applications. It has introduced a variety ofproducts that deploy quick solutions in the areas of telecom network management, voice mail, intelligent call centre, interactive voice response and customer and billing software for the telecom industry. Himachal Futuristic's informatics division also customises generic infotech products to offer customer specific solutions.

The group, which posted a turnover of Rs 210 crore in 1997-98, is poised to better its results in the coming years. Nahata and his managers have set sights on an ambitious goal of increasing turnover by leaps and bounds every year. The Himachal Futuristic hopes to double turnover to Rs 400 crore for this year and then push the figure to Rs 600 crore by the year 2000.

Market analysts say that this was a strong possibility given the company's strong order position. Company officials say that the expanding business portfolio was the result of a judicious mix of selling to both private and government buyers. Himachal Futuristic is the largest supplier of microwave radios to theDepartment of Telecommunications (DoT) and is aggressively increasing market share among private operators.

"Our forays into a wide spectrum of telecom activities have enabled us to widen our client base and enjoy the confidence of a number of customers from the government to private operators," said Nahata. In line with a business plan to consolidate its position as a end-to-end basic telecom outfit, Himachal Futuristic has announced plans to exit from the Hinduja promoted cellular venture in Gujarat. It has a 10 per cent stake in the venture alongwith Shinawatra of Thailand and Kotak Mahindra.

Himachal Futuristic's turnkey telecom division, started in 1995, has propelled much of the growth. It provides a single window solution for a range of services that include project planning, network design, equipment supply, installation, commissioning and operating support systems. The division provides engineering solutions on a turnkey basis for telecom infrastructure requirements of cellular operators, basictelecom operators and other bulk users of telecom services in the country and abroad.

It has set up a number of large microwave and fibre optic networks, including the Essar site in Punjab and Delhi and is in the process of executing a similar project in Tamil Nadu for Srinivas Cellcom.

Himachal Futuristic has formulated its strategic goal by focusing itself on the telecom sector. Some of the future technologies being addressed by the company are ATM-based broad band networks, Internet products & services, data networks, radio- and satellite-based wide-band networks, broadband wireline access technologies and higher hierarchies of SDH transmission equipment.