MUMBAI, INDIA:  IT hardware firm HCL Infosystems has been awarded a 5.29-billion-rupee ($114 million) IT project for Rajasthan's power distribution utilities, a top official of the utilities said on Friday.

"We have awarded the order to HCL Infosystems," R.G. Gupta, chairman of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Ajmer Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd, told Reuters over the telephone from the western Indian city of Jaipur.

The project involves applying technology to identify power losses across all cities and villages of Rajasthan and has to be completed in 18 months, he said.

A company spokesman declined to comment but said HCL Infosystems had bid for several R-APDRP (Re-structured Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme) IT projects including the one in Rajasthan.

HCL Infosystems said Rajasthan is also the first in India to facilitate implementation of power reforms by the ministry of power under RAPDRP.

The project also involves setting up of a wide area network, data center with a disaster recovery back-up centre. The project will also implement a state wide differential GPS to map all the electrical assets of the three distribution companies of the state, said a press release. 

Commenting on the announcement J.V. Ramamurthy, COO, HCL Infosystems Ltd said, “HCL’s deep understanding of the Indian power sector including the power sector distribution reflect in our approach to address challenges faced by utilities in these areas through the deployment of technology. We are pleased to be a part of this unique initiative by government of Rajasthan."