News Detail

• The list of 17 companies that the government last week nudged to invest more read like a Who's Who of public sector undertakings (PSUs). Except perhaps one, whose inclusion drew more like a Who's That? The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) couldn't have turned to a better pick than ONGC, BPCL, IndianOil and Coal India, among others, to perk up flagging investments in the economy. After all, most of these companies are known to have surplus cash reserves. The surprise name in the list was, at least to non-PSU watchers, a company called Engineers India Ltd (EIL). Turns out that the engineering consultant for oil and gas and petrochemical businesses has a cash balance of Rs 1,650 crore, the fruits of many years of profitability, besting even Indian Oil's Rs 1,290 crore. In 2010-11, EIL posted a record profit after tax of Rs 522 crore on a turnover of Rs 2,823 crore. Its net worth, at nearly Rs 1,800 crore, is also not small beer. 

• The government, which owns 80.4% of EIL, now wants the company to invest around Rs 1,000 crore in 2012-13. Actually, EIL had set in motion an investment game plan even before the call from the PMO. EIL chairman and managing director AK Purwaha says his company is in talks with businesses in which it wants to purchase 5-10% stakes. "We want to invest in projects where there is synergy, where we are likely to have a role as project management consultant," he says. If EIL did raise eyebrows last week, it was because, as a company official says, "We are extremely publicity shy." Rich History Nevertheless, the company has been around for nearly five decades. The PSU also has bragging rights to share space with its more celebrated peers. 

• EIL has designed, or been consulted for, 50 refineries in the country, of which nine are grassroots plants. Seven of the eight petrochemical plants operating in the country have been built using its design expertise. EIL had a hand in upgrading almost every refinery in India to conform to new emission standards. Today, the company has to its credit more than 800 major projects. "We are happy that our clients know our work," says the official. It is a clientele that includes public and private sector Indian companies such as ONGC and Essar Group as well as overseas enterprises such as Oman Oil Company and National Petroleum Construction Corporation of Abu Dhabi. Still, it is hard to believe these deeds of EIL or soak in its rich history when one enters its towering headquarters at Delhi's Bhikaji Cama Place. Every nook and corner of the building reminds us what EIL actually is, a bona fide PSU, those lumbering giants playing catch-up with nimble-footed private rivals. Two sombre, 'senior' women, who would have easily been at home tutoring school kids, man the reception. Security guards wear bored expressions, but spring to attention and throw in a salute when a senior executive passes by. 

Source