Digital imaging major Canon?s thrust on consumer and government verticals is likely to grow in the coming months as the company eyes a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore in the country by the end of 2010. Senior vice-president Alok Bharadwaj says Canon is likely to close this calendar year with a turnover of Rs 800 crore. As the company inches towards the Rs 1,000-crore-mark, Bharadwaj has his priorities chalked out to keep the momentum going in terms of product launches, bag more government orders etc.

The company has supplied cameras to Bharat Electronics Ltd, which has been assigned the task to fabricate the cards for the coastal identification programme by the government. It is also working with Tata Consultancy Services on the passport automation project. The company also hopes to make inroads into the unique identification (UID) project. In an exclusive interview with FE?s Viveat Susan Pinto, Bharadwaj outlines the company?s strategy. Excerpts:

What are your plans for the UID project?

The UID project will be a complex exercise. Technology will play a key role here, whether it is to manage or capture data, biometrics etc. We are not into biometrics, but data capturing, yes, that would interest us. I am referring to taking photographs of individuals because an ID calls for it. Our camera portfolio should also come handy here. The second area of opportunity will be printing of the cards. The job of printing the cards will interest us, as and when the cards are required to be issued.

Do you have the work you done for the coastal identification programme in mind when planning for the UID project?

It is a related programme. In the coastal identification project we have played the role of suppliers to Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), which has been assigned the task of fabricating the cards for people living along the coastline. We have supplied cameras to the company for them to take photographs of the concerned people, which include the fishermen. Around 30,000 fishermen from India go into the high seas everyday and they have to be issued cards. BEL will begin work after on this soon. It will take about six months to complete the task of issuing cards to about 12 million people living along India?s coastline. It?s a good project. The other one is the passport automation programme, where we are working closely with TCS as a supplier. So yes, all this makes us hopeful that we can bag further projects in the government sector.

How much do the government, consumer and SME verticals contribute to the topline?

Consumer contributes to about one-third of the topline, while government and SME verticals contribute one-fourth each. Though all the three have contributed to growth this year, we see the consumer and government verticals as being key drivers for us in the coming months. Of the ten product categories we have, cameras, video camcorders, inkjet printers and photo printers are the ones targeted at consumers. We find that the government sector has an appetite for all our products, while the SME segment primarily drives business for printers and copiers.

To what factors do you attribute Canon?s high rate of launch of products?

The churn rate with technology products is high, which is why we launch a high number of products every year. Almost 66% of our products are replaced every year, which is why we have to launch so many new ones to keep the replacement rate going. It takes care of our requirement of being in vogue. On an average, we launch 80-100 products every year. This year, we have launched 69 products so far. Of these, 37 are cameras, 8 copiers, and of course, 24 printer and IT peripherals. More should be in the offing in the next three months.

How much has Canon earmarked for research & development globally?

Almost 8% of Canon?s global revenues are invested in research & development. This allows us to keep pace with product introductions every year. We also have two software development centres in Bangalore and Noida, which are part of the global R&D initiative.