Srinivasagopalan Rangarajan, Chairman and Managing Director, Data Patterns (India) Limited

25 Jan 2022 , 11:35 AM

In an interaction with Mamta Maity, indiainfoline.com, Mr. Srinivasagopalan Rangarajan, Chairman and Managing Director- Data Patterns (India) Limited said, "During its initial years, Data Patterns developed products for laboratory instrument automation and branded these products for large companies building instruments in India."

Brief us about your company journey & milestones. Take us through the IPO.

Data Patterns is a Defence and Aerospace Electronics Systems Company.  Its products and capabilities have been developed over the last 3 decades.  Ever since inception, Data Patterns has developed products and competencies in-house conforming to international standards. This continued focus of building internationally comparable products has allowed Data Patterns to scale both its competencies and products, enabling complete systems to be offered in the defence and aerospace segments in India.

Data Patterns has been a product company since inception. During its initial years, Data Patterns developed products for laboratory instrument automation and branded these products for large companies building instruments in India.  These products were sold in competition against products of Hewlett Packard, Perkin Elmer, etc., in the gas chromatography market.

With the introduction of IBM PCs, Data Patterns ventured into designing and building IBM PC based add-on hardware to allow utilisation of the IBM PC for non-data processing applications and later graduated to building special purpose test equipment for large systems manufactured by companies like BHEL. 

In order to scale revenue, we decided to build a standard Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) platform which can be offered to test a variety of products, similar to products being offered by standard international products from Hewlett Packard, Keithley, etc.  We developed a complex ATE platform, DP-800 Multiprogrammer, with multiple functional building blocks to allow customers to configure the system to meet end applications to automatically test products manufactured / developed by them.  As part of this product, we also developed a real-time multi-tasking BASIC interpreter language DP-BASIC, similar to HP BASIC being offered internationally.

The ATE platform was sold to ISRO for testing the navigation equipment and other avionics packages which are part of the launch vehicle program.

The Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) sold to ISRO started our journey in the aerospace and defence market in India.  We continued to develop a range of open architecture products for ISRO developing a whole range of products (re-usable building blocks) to address almost all their requirements for testing their avionics. 

A notable program was the Second Launch Pad Count Down System developed and delivered indigenously in 2001 by Data Patterns for ISRO, Sriharikota, for the launch operations.  Today, all the launches use Data Patterns’ checkout equipment.

We also signed a Rate Contract with VSSC, ISRO, to deliver on a single vendor basis, almost 90% of their checkout requirements for the launch vehicle avionics testing. 

To further scale revenues, we decided to work with DRDO who are developing products for Indian defence requirements.

The advantage of building certified products with DRDO allows us to become OEMs.  Once the products / platforms / equipment / weapon systems developed by DRDO becomes operational, multiple such systems would be procured by MoD to meet their Service requirements and the repeat requirements would be procured from the OEMs.  This would allow revenue visibility and growth.

The first success was in the Brahmos program where we won a contract for the Brahmos missile launch system (Fire Control System) in 2001 against competition from L&T, Tata, BEL, etc.  The FCS developed for Brahmos is the first Fire Control System to have been designed in India for Brahmos Launch operations.  We have received many contracts over the years for the Brahmos FCS. 

The first entry into Airborne systems was with Aeronautical Development Agency.  We developed a Smart Cockpit Displays and the mission computer processor modules for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).  This development enabled capabilities for designing safety critical equipment and design qualification flow processes for fighter aircraft programs. 

We developed across the board electronics for all platforms used in Land, Sea, Underwater, Air and Space requirements addressing opportunities across DRDO labs allowing Data Patterns to develop competencies across all of electronics and platforms.

In 2008, we decided to build design competencies in RF and Microwave to allow us to build complete systems.  Today, Data Patterns designs and builds RF and Microwave up to 40 GHz, allowing Data Patterns to be the only company in India who are building competency in products across all of electronics including Processor, digital, analog, high voltage, power, RF and Microwave, FPGA and firmware as well as embedded software and application software.  We also built competencies and design infrastructure for mechanical and engineering design, structural and thermal modelling to enable design us to complete systems in-house for defence and aerospace applications.

Having developed subsystems and components for DRDO, we decided that we needed to scale competencies for development of complete products and systems as required by the end Users. 

In order to develop complete systems, we needed to build domain competencies and application knowledge as the MoD only procures complete systems for their use.

Initial focus was to build complete radars.  To enable this development and validating our designs, we aggressively participated in the radar upgrade tenders of ISRO and won all the upgrade contracts of Tracking Radars issued by ISRO.  This allowed us to test and demonstrate in-house competencies to build complete Radars.  Similarly, over the last 12 years, Data Patterns has made considerable investments in building domain and product competencies in Electronics Warfare.  Today, we are building competency in communications, data link, Satcom etc.

As Data Patterns has substantial exposure to Department of Space and DRDO, we decided to build product competencies to enable Data Patterns to develop modern small satellites for Defence.  Towards this, a Nano satellite platform was designed and launched in 2017.  Further development is underway to address latent markets for modern small defence satellites. 

Today, the company has over 800 employees with more than 450 engineers, a modern certified production and design infrastructure and a capability for addressing the large defence and aerospace market which has opened to the Indian Industry. 

We have around 600 Crores contracts order on hand and visibility for a large pipeline which has been created by an earlier developed products which have been certified or undergoing certification.

During the last 70 years India has been relying on imported defence equipment.  Today, the Defence Acquisition Procedure has been modified to allow only Indian Industries to address tenders from MoD.  This has opened an enormous market opportunity to Indian Defence Industries.

We decided to go for an IPO as we have a strong order book, a good pipeline of repeat contracts and plans to address the large opportunity that has emerged in the Indian Defence and Aerospace market.

As per DRHP, company intend to expand to high-end global markets like India, as the company believe in core competency and is in complete sync with requirements for various sectors, such as industrial automation, telecom, automobile (electronic sub-systems), medical (electronic sub-systems) and nuclear. Can you give us more clarity on it?

Data Patterns has enormous capabilities in design of electronics and software.  Though substantial scale can be achieved in the Aerospace and Defence markets in India, thanks to the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives and defence procurement procedure being modified to enable more “Make in India” defence equipment, we would also like to look at an export business.  The capabilities developed in-house for the electronics and software can be re-used to address opportunities in the other markets like medical instrumentation, automotive, telecom etc.  A large international market exists for design services in electronics and embedded software.  Based on the existing competencies, we would like to address these export opportunities for design services and prototype manufacturing in the coming years.

How do you plan to utilise net proceeds from the fresh issue in the coming years? Does your company plan to come out with FPO in coming years?

The fresh issue will be used to replace existing debt, future working capital, capex plans as well as general corporate purposes.

What products does it make? Who all are its customers, does it have any monopoly or who does it compete with?

The products developed by Data Patterns will include Radars and Radar Subsystems (Wind Profile Radar, Weather Radar, Tracking Radar, Surveillance Radar, Airborne Radars, etc.), Electronic Warfare Equipment (both COMINT and ELINT from 1MHz to 40GHz), Communication Equipment, Fire Control Systems, Nano and Small Satellites Components and Equipment, Missile Electronics, Underwater Electronics and other platform related Electronic Systems.

Customers include DRDO, ISRO, HAL, BEL, BDL, Air Force, Navy, Army and Exports.

We have two groups of competition, one group in DRDO programs and the other in large MoD tenders. 

In DRDO programs, there are a number of competitors in the MSME category competing in the components and subsystems requirements. However, in more value-added equipment requirements, which involves multi-disciplinary electronics design capabilities, a number of contracts are procured on a single vendor basis by Data Patterns from DRDO.

In MoD contracts most of them competition is from large corporates.  Most of the large corporates have a back-to-back arrangement with foreign OEMs to address the MoD tender requirements.  Data Patterns also has similar tie-ups with foreign OEMs.  However, as Data Patterns has the basic design competencies/building blocks and domain knowledge, Data Patterns plans to address these opportunities with more value addition in India.

How is the Order book going to be in the coming years? Can you give us the bifurcation? What percentage is from public and private companies?

We have large project orders in pipeline which allows the company scale rapidly.  The pipeline is based on already delivered products which are either undergoing certification and completed certification.  Once MoD places the contracts for such programs on the defence PSUs, Data Patterns should get back-to-back orders being the OEM of the initial developed products.

Indian Defence industry is at an inflexion point, with the increased private sector participation being the way forward. What is your take on this?

The Defence industry in India is at an inflexion point. DAP 2020 and other Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives has modified the procurement procedures for buying more in India and has mandated value addition in India which will bring in enormous scale to Indian industry.

How are you looking forward to contribute to achieve Aatmanirbhar Bharat?

Data Patterns has always been designing products in-house.  We have been carrying the by-line “Make in India with Pride” and have been a true promoter/believer in Atmanirbhar Bharat.

After developing the first nanosatellite in 2017. Two more are in pipeline, what is the progress on that? Also tell us more about company’s achievements in the recent years.

Data Patterns wants to build complete small satellites to meet defence requirements. Presently substantial capabilities have been built in-house to develop the complete satellite platforms, payloads and the ground station.  We hope to build further capabilities in small/micro satellites once we contracts are awarded