Industries minister E P Jayarajan sidestepped questions about Kerala government's stake in Keltron's Coconics, touted as a 'Made in Kerala' laptop. Congress legislator V T Balram said in the Assembly on Thursday that Coconics was a 'Made in China' product.
“Keltron was importing parts from China and assembling it here,” Balram said while taking part in a industry-related discussion in the Assembly. Jayarajan said that assembling parts was not anything new as all big multinational companies like Philips and Panasonic were doing the same thing.
Balram further said that private companies had controlling stake in Coconics. According to him, the Kerala Government's share in Coconics was a mere 26 per cent. Another government-owned entity, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), had a stake of 23 per cent.
“However, the private software giant UST Global had a 49 per cent stake in the company. A private start up had a stake of two per cent. Therefore, private companies had a controlling stake of 51 per cent in Coconics,” Balram said. The industries minister, in his reply, did not respond to these claims by Balram even after he was prodded by the member.
Coconics, which was supposed to be launched in January 2020, comes in three models and in four different colours. The three models are: CC11B, CC11A and C314A. CC11B is a two-in-one notebook, featuring a 11-inch FHD touchscreen display, Intel Celeron N3350 processor, 4GB RAM, 64 GB eMMC storage, USB Type C connectivity and 8-hour battery back-up for frequent travellers.
Balram also charged that public land, 2.25 acres in Keltron's possession, and a building within the premises were handed over to private companies. He said the building was renovated at a cost of 3.50 crore. Jayarajan disputed this saying that the land was only 66 cents and not 2.25 acres as claimed by Balram. The minister also said that the land and building were given on a monthly lease of Rs 3 lakh to Coconics.
Balram also questioned why UST Global was chosen for the project. “This company has expertise only in software development and not in hardware,” Balram said. The minister did not answer this charge.
The other major charge was the trip made by Keltron's MD to China without taking the government's permission. “The government desperately ratified the trip only a few days before a question related to the trip was scheduled to be asked in the Assembly,” Balram said.
When pressed on by the opposition, Jayarajan merely reiterated that all charges related to Keltron would be probed by the industries principal secretary. The Comptroller and Auditor General had recently flagged serious discrepancies in Keltron's functioning. The CAG had noted that Keltron's procurement process was not transparent and did not adhere to the Store Purchase Manual or to the guidelines set by the Central Vigilance Commission.
The CAG had pointed to a clear nexus between officers of the Police Department, vendors and Keltron (the total solutions provider of Kerala Police) in the fixation of prices.
