India’s Ministery of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will hold round table discussions with prominent leaders of the electronics industry next week.
According to a press release, the meeting will be held to discuss the challenges faced by the industry and the opportunities and expectations of the industry from the government for the quick and efficient growth of the electronics manufacturing sector.
For the government, domestic electronics hardware manufacturing is a top priority and an important pillar of its Make in India and Digital India programmes.
As a result of the implementation of several schemes and initiatives that promote electronics hardware manufacturing and efforts of the industry, considerable progress has been made over the last five years, specifically in import substitution.
Some of the key highlights of the electronics sector include:
- Over US $15 billion worth of investment proposals were received directly by MeitY under its flagship investment scheme.
- Domestic manufacturing has grown from US $29 billion in 2014-15 to US $70 billion in 2018-19.
- India has emerged as the 2nd largest manufacturer of mobile handsets in the world and one of the world’s largest mobile manufacturing facility is based in India.
- The number of manufacturing units for LCD/ LED TVs has gone up from 25 to 35 units.
- The number of LED lights manufacturing units has gone up from 10 to 128 units.
- It has generated employment for over 2 million people across the country.
- Lately, exports of electronic goods have started growing rapidly.
There is significant scope for growth in this sector with its expanding domestic market, which is estimated to reach US $400 billion by 2025, and the ongoing global trade dynamics, especially in the technology space.
The release also noted that with its strengths in the market, technology talent pool, rapidly growing competitive economy and positioning in global dynamics, India holds the potential to become the ‘electronics factory’ of the world.
The National Policy on Electronics 2019 (NPE) intends to position India as a global electronics hub by encouraging and driving capabilities in the country for developing core components (including chipsets) and creating an enabling environment for the industry to compete globally.
The NPE will create an electronics system design and manufacturing (EDSM) ecosystem through the promotion of domestic manufacturing and export in the entire value chain of ESDM. It will provide incentives and support for the manufacturing of core electronic components.
Also, the NPE will formulate suitable schemes and “incentive mechanisms” to encourage new units and the expansion of existing units. It will promote industry-led research, development, and innovation in all sub-sectors of electronics. These include grass-root level innovations and early-stage start-ups in emerging technology like 5G, IoT and sensors, Al, machine learning, virtual reality, drones, robotics, additive manufacturing, photonics, and nano-based devices.
The Ministry plans to “embark upon a comprehensive investment and trade promotion programme to make Electronics India a brand synonymous with next Electronics Hub,” the release said.
Around 50 industry leaders have confirmed their participation in the roundtable to deliberate upon the mutual expectations from the government and the industry. Representation has been confirmed from all the major verticals of the electronics sector such as mobile handsets, consumer electronics, strategic electronics, medical devices, IT, electronic manufacturing services, electronic components, telecom, and LED lighting.