indiaelectricmarket.com, a division of the listed company Diamond Industrial Fiscal Ltd. (DIFSL), has just received Rs 9 crore in its first round of funding. The company plans to raise another Rs 9 crore in the next couple of months to set up ground infrastructure for its e-commerce activities. "We are targeting the venture funds and are also talking to a few large electrical corporates in the country for our next round of funding," said DIFSL managing director Amit Bhatnagar.

The deal was structured by BNP Prime Peregrine India. Said BNP Prime Peregrine India senior associate director Tarun Chugh, "The site has potential to earn revenues from transaction activities, subscription and rent of exhibition sites. Validation and reach beyond geographical barriers are the winning points and critical to the portal."

The portal has exclusively tied up with the two major validating agencies: ERDA and Central Power Research Institute, Bangalore. This, said Bhatnagar, would provide an entry barrier for other electrical portals as they would be deprived of business sharing with the two leading validating agencies in the country. ERDA has signed up with indiaelectricmarket.com exclusively to sell all its services on the net for the next three years at a commission of 10 per cent.

The ERDA Website shall be part of the electrical industry support services segment of indiaelectricmarket.com. indiaelectricmarket.com has four streams of revenue models: commissions on resale, broking, tenders and revenue from exhibitions. "Our major revenue driver will be from resales as we will be adding value to an activity where there is no transparency. It will comprise 20 per cent of our total revenue," said Bhatnagar.

The electric resale market, said Bhatnagar, is worth Rs 250 billion. The portal will provide valuation report, sourcing of different types of products at one spot at no extra cost of travel or communication, comparative prices and choice to buyers.

With 40 per cent of new electrical goods trade being sold through tenders, indiaelectricmarket.com aims to provide a single source access to electrical traders in an efficient, timely and detailed manner. The Website will cover international tenders and update data on a daily basis. Electric broking, Bhatnagar said, is a Rs 500 billion market. "We would provide sourcing of different types of products at one spot without extra cost. A proper validation system would be provided to assure quality, particularly in the small manufacturer segment.

This is a large segment and would gain the most from the site. Manufacturers from Africa, SAARC nations and Middle East will get access to the Indian market," he added.

The company has projected a turnover of Rs 14 crore in its first year of operations from its portal business, ending June 30, 2001. It has already earned a revenue of Rs 11 lakh from its e-commerce activities and Rs 6.5 lakh from exhibitions in its first month.

For building up communities, the portal will have electrical chat pages, news pages, calendar of important industry events and news you can use. It is also planning alliances for its bookstore section. "We will not be charging money from our bookstore and recruitment services. After education, we expect students to hang on to our website for getting jobs. We are talking to a few job sites for a tie up. These are the community building exercises we are doing. And it can be done better with alliances," said Bhatnagar.