Government Initiatives to reinforce Consumer Electronics Manufacturing in India & make it an international production hub

Demand for electronics has been increasing day by day. Be it phones, laptops, tabs or any electronic goods, people have made themselves dependent on these goods. India is a big consumer of electronics. According to a study conducted, it is estimated that by the year 2025, we can expect India to achieve a GDP of $5 trillion and a digital economy of $1 trillion.

The government of India has taken several measures to boost consumer electronics manufacturing in India by ensuring the exports of electronics increase and the imports of the same decrease.

The current domestic electronics manufacturing sector faces a lack of a level playing field vis-à-vis competing nations. The sector suffers disability of around 8.5% to 11% on account of lack of adequate infrastructure, domestic supply chain and logistics; high cost of finance; inadequate availability of quality power; limited design capabilities and focus on R&D by the industry; and inadequacies in skill development.

Mandeep Arora, Managing Director & Co-founder of UBON

The Indian government has taken several steps to boost domestic electronics manufacturing, reduce import dependence, and increase exports. The Make in India programme, the National Policy on Electronics (2019), the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for the electronics sector, the Modified Special Incentives Scheme, the Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) Scheme, and several other measures are intended to provide incentives for domestic manufacturing, localization of electronics manufacturing, attracting foreign direct investment, and increasing exports.

The announcement of the scheme gives an impression that localizing electronic products in India will not just drive true local value addition but also will lead to more jobs in the country. Given the momentum India has, PLI on more consumer electronic products will drive more players to set up operations in India.

The National Policy on Electronics aims to make India an international hub of digital device layout and manufacturing (ESDM). It estimates that approximately 10 million jobs may be created due to the implementation of NPE. The National Policy on Electronics seeks to establish India as a global center for electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM). It is estimated that the implementation of NPE will result in the creation of approximately 10 million jobs. Through NPE Government is trying to attract large-scale setups in India in an effort to make India the preferred manufacturing and importantly export hub. To do that, large scale setups are needed that showcase long term commitment, huge financial investment in the country along with other key benefits like giving an impetus to innovation, R&D, and employment generation

From the beginning of the ‘Make in India’ campaign to realizing the importance of self-reliance in recent times, India has indeed come a long way. Though the global pandemic has brought unforeseen circumstances and has halted various businesses across the globe, India seems to be taking full advantage of this situation by implementing the words of its Prime Minister “Aapda ko Avsar banana hai” meaning, it’s time to convert disasters into opportunities and moving towards new highs.

The appropriate policy changes, the introduction of new schemes to induce foreign producers, and encouragement of domestic production by the government blended with the proper commitment of the people can pave the way for India to become the hub of production, which will not only make itself reliant but will also provide employment opportunities and will help the country in growing and developing at an exponential rate.

Author: Mandeep Arora, Managing Director & Co-founder of UBON