Tubes and Transistors – The Story of Bharat Electronics Limited

During colonial rule and the early years of independence, the Indian electronics industry remained minuscule and was dominated by subsidiaries of foreign companies like Philips, Murphy, and General Electric.

In May 1948, a committee was set up to address a government desire for indigenous electronics communications equipment to be used by the Defence Services, All India Radio, Civil Aviation, etc.

The project was later entrusted to the Ministry of Defence, and a collaboration with the French firm Compagnie Générale de Télégraphie Sans Fil (CSF) was launched in 1952.

This project eventually led to the formation of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in Bangalore in 1954. State of the art production and research facilities were set up under CSF’s scrutiny, and BEL was ready to manufacture communications receivers and transmitters.

However, BEL struggled to find buyers as the Defence Services were more comfortable with British equipment over the French-designed CSF products.
This led chief executive B.V Baliga to license products from British manufacturers like PYE and Murphy. Plans to manufacture CSF valves too were shelved in favour of a collaboration with Philips (who were partnered with British firm Mullard).

The manufacture of consumer radio and audio tubes began in 1961. Their low price and high quality made BEL valves ubiquitous in radio sets, as well as locally made audio amplifiers like the Ahuja TM series.

By January 1962, BEL had already produced a million valves and had its sights set on bringing the nascent semiconductor technology to the country.

Germanium diode and transistor manufacturing began that same year, paving the way for the first generation of affordable indigenous audio products.

BEL remained on the cutting-edge of technology through the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Integrated circuit technology came to the country not long after its introduction in the west, and by the end of the ‘70s, the firm had brought various chips for radio, television, and audio amplifier applications to the market.

Despite BEL’s contribution to the growth of consumer electronics in India, defence and government were always the public sector firm’s primary focus.

They were involved in various defence projects such as radar, and tropo communications and today continue to be engaged in various products of national importance such as EVMs and Electronic Warfare Systems.

To the Indian audiophile, however, their legacy lies in their profound contribution to India’s audio heritage.

Read more: Indian Audio Icons – Valve Radio Brands of the ‘50s and ‘60s | Indian Audio Heritage