The turnover outlook too for the year ending March 2002 has been upped considerably to Rs 70-80 crore. Now that the demerger from Usha Beltron is complete, UMIT will also go for a separate listing on various Indian bourses by November 15. The overseas operation will be under the aegis of the just-formed Usha Martin Inc, a 100 per cent subsidiary of UMIT. For the Japanese and Australian markets which the company is eying too, it will have "authorised partners" once the business touches $1-2 million, Mr Navin Kaul, director corporate marketing, UMIT, told eFE from Delhi. Mr Kaulthus justified the logic of relocating Mr Kapur in the US: "The idea is to tell our customers our focus. Also, it is far easier to monitorour other potential markets of Europe, Australia, etc from there." UMIT is in its very first year of operation and is looking to notch up a turnover of about Rs 12 crore ($2.5 million) by March 2001, mostly coming from the overseas sales.

Mr Agendra Kumar, director, sales of the company told eFE: "We expect as much as 70-80 per cent of our turnover to come from the markets of US, Europe and Asia Pacific." Mr Kumar was in Mumbai to receive the Nokia-sponsored WAP Hothouse competition award on behalf of his company. The revenue will primarily come from the company's wireless technology business where UMIT is "in the process of building competencies" as Mr Kumar put it.

Elaborating further, Mr Abhik Mukherjee, general manager, marketing said: "Though we are not working on any specific project, but we'd be primarily developing applications in 3G." These applications basically are to facilitate multimedia downloading of films, video films (on WAP phones).Another measure of the increased overseas focus can be had from the fact that the company will be bolstering its manpower considerably to help it in developing and marketing software, mostly telecom-related. To help it achieve its ambitions, the company is also looking to strengthen its manpower. "We'd be recruiting more people," Mr Kumar said.

UMIT already has 600-strong team of professionals engaged in developing telecommunication and information technology software solutions. It has a presence in the US in the shape of UshComm, which is an international software product and consulting services outfit providing high-value convergent operational support systems to integrated communication service providers worldwide. UshComm is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, USA.

UMIT is the sum total of UshaComm, UACT (Ushamartin Academy of Communication Technology) and Usoft, and the move to shift base to US will help the company consolidate it further, the officials felt.