Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) and Vikas Lifecare Limited have signed a joint venture agreement (JVA) for setting up a smart meter manufacturing plant. On behalf of Vikas Lifecare, its subsidiary Genesis Gas Solution has entered into the contract.
It will be India’s first integrated smart meter manufacturing plant and will incur a capital expenditure of Rs 110 crore, both companies said in separate exchange filings. The proposed Joint Venture between IGL and Genesis by Vikas Lifecare shall have equity participation from both partners in the ratio of 51:49, respectively.
They will manufacture diaphragm gas meters equipped with IoT technologies like LoRa, LoRaWAN, Bluetooth, NFC, NB-IoT and more. The proposed Joint Venture shall also develop the necessary software, and interface with in-built smart analytics, dashboards and predictive maintenance protocol systems.
These smart meters shall provide much-needed solutions to manage consumers’ energy demand and metering with utmost accuracy and on real-time basis. Initially, the smart meter manufacturing plant shall have an installed capacity to manufacture 1 million meters annually, and is planned to be operational by April 2024, the companies said.
Both players are looking to tap the rising demand for smart metering solutions, following its rise in disposable incomes, rapid urbanization, climate challenges and the government’s push for clean energy uses. The JV aims to cater international markets as well.
The gas metering solutions market is currently dominated by offshore suppliers, with minimal presence of Indian players. This IGL and Genesis Joint Venture will reap the benefits of the government’s ‘Make in India – Make for World initiative.’
Both Vikas Lifecare and Indraprastha Gas as New Delhi-based companies. Shares of Vikas Lifecare settled slightly lower on Monday to Rs 3.93, whereas Indraprastha Gas’ stocks jumped about 4 per cent to Rs 445.15, hovering near its 52-week high.
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