Nearly 75 years since its inception, public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) gears up to brace for its most significant change yet. Keen to spearhead the ‘Make in India’ call by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, the company under the Ministry of Defence has to shed its image of long delays in production and delivery and complete modernisation plans to emerge as an effective partner in the campaign. The first of HAL’s challenges will be to gear up for the proposed 10 per cent disinvestment, which includes a change in board structure and the very nature of how it conducts business. The new government at the Centre has set a target of raising Rs 43,425 crore through disinvestment in 2014-15, against Rs 40,000 crore raised in the previous fiscal from public sector units (PSUs). The company is yet to sort out issues emanating from sharing of ‘confidential information’. Undeterred by allegations of delays, the company remains upbeat over the upcoming listing. It has even gone on to say that its stocks will be ‘desirable’ to its shareholders as it has the ability to match the order books of global aviation giants like Boeing or BAE.“We will be a desirable company for people to hold shares, as part of our long-term integrated perspective plan and tech roadmap of defence forces. HAL sees a lot of projects in the pipeline and we are even working on dealing with competition and co-operation with the private industry,” outgoing Chairman and Managing Director RK Tyagi said in his last interaction with the media. (Shri. T Suvarna Raju took over charge from Tyagi. RK Tyagi said the company had tried to change its focus. “In the last three years, we have tried to convert HAL from a manufacturing company into a technology company; we have made efforts to prepare for a better tomorrow,” he explained. But the focus on change has not been of any solace to its customers.
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