Our 35-year-old journey through the history of Indian Electronics

By Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Electronics

The Amazing 80s

This decade saw the birth of TVS Electronics as a company that would not just go on to become a leader in its segment, but one that would change the game for the Indian industry.

Till the 1970s India was still far behind in the technology game. Telephones and telegraph were the main modes of communication and were primarily owned by the Government. The 80s brought with it a new wave of technology with several advancements in electronic engineering. And luckily, India had begun to ride that wave as soon as it had begun.

I remember at the time that with the easing of several norms including foreign investment, 100% foreign equity, reducing customs duties and so on, expansion took place, especially in the computer and consumer electronics sectors. Almost all the electronic giants today found their genesis during this period where favorable government policies, easy access to funds and manpower, and rising market demand, spawned their growth.

For all of us at TVS Electronics, the whole idea was that things had to be made in India… foreign exchange was in shortage, and technology was clearly scarce. Electronics was like this Goddess, completely protected by the priests from the average person… you had to prove that you belong… that you had what it takes to get access to Goddess Electronics.

Clearly, it was a time when knowledge was not freely available, and expertise lay in the hands of a chosen few. However, we were lucky at TVS Electronics that we had the support and vision of people who had helped turn the wheels of Indian industry for over half a century. Consequently, the company was born and continued to take giant strides.

The Roaring 90s

Suddenly there was a sea-change, as a revolution swept through the nation. Markets opened up, and the Indian industry thrived. The computer age was here. There was greater access to foreign goods and people were able to compare what was best and buy what they really wanted. For an Indian company, TVS Electronics quietly but surely was stamping its authority as the definitive player when it came to electronic products and services.

While computers were evolving at a breakneck speed, the electronics sector itself was undergoing a radical transformation. Small electronics and IT peripherals were growing in demand, especially in the retail sector which was now scaling up and modernizing itself. Even the humble dot matrix printer which had been around for decades before was now seen as a mainstay in several banks and large PSUs, including the Railways. And TVSE was its primary manufacturer.

Our TVS Electronics strategy was very very simple… We did two things that made us successful and made us No. 1… Fundamentally, we wanted to have a range of products – printer, keyboard, UPS, and a bunch of other small things. But the major work we did was to develop a dealer channel – appointing local level distributors, dealer training programs, incentive programs – and get the product into the SME market. That was the democratization of the computer. We created a dealer culture in what was essentially a B2B business… We were far more B2B2C and it gave us a formidable advantage.

A matter of pride is the Gold Keyboard from TVS Electronics which is to this day considered the gold standard in keyboards for its longevity and performance. As also many other products at the time, which today may not hold much relevance what with technology has evolved tremendously. However, in the 90s, these were the products to look up to, and they were not just accessible, but also the very best.

The Sparkling 2000s

The late 90s and early 2000s were about moving beyond manufacturing toward creating meaningful products that were world-class. People already had a taste of what was best, and Indian companies were mindful of keeping up with the foreign competition. Right from their design to their durability, to the dependability of the technology used, everything was being revamped.

We created the precursor of the ‘Make In India’ initiative with the “Maha” series, with a banner at that time that said, “Taking IT to the heart of India”. We invested heavily in R&D and made simple changes to the products ironing out the chinks that existed.

TVS Electronics was not only keeping abreast of the times, it was redefining the way the market was functioning. Having decided to clearly focus on POS transactions in the late 90s, TVS Electronics looked to expand its portfolio across the Indian marketplace at the dawn of the Millennium.

With the advent of high-performance servers and LANs, the country was making giant strides in the field of modern computing. IT was a huge export for India, and a lot of companies were jumping onto this bandwagon. On its part, TVS Electronics decided to focus on the Indian marketplace and was raising the game for the electronics industry. It already had a rudimentary form of cloud computing as part of its POS business, long before the term even existed, with analytics reaching shopkeepers on a timely basis.

Today, TVS Electronics stand as a testament to the Glory of the Electronic Age, the Magic of the Computer Age, the Revolution of the Mobile Age, and the Transformation brought about by the Digital Age. And TVS Electronics is still here to not just be a reminder of what was, but the possibilities of what can be, in a future that grows ever brighter.

This is part of our PCQuest 35 Years Series on the Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow of Technology.