Centre unveils scheme to boost electronic manufacturing

New Delhi: The central government on Tuesday started inviting applications for Rs 50,000 crore incentive schemes to attract global mobile device makers and boost local companies for electronics manufacturing.

IT and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said India will initially aim to attract top 5 global mobile manufacturing companies and also promote five local firms that will be identified through a screening process. "There is a total incentive of Rs 50,000 crore. There are 5-6 large companies that control 80 per cent of the global mobile market. Initially, we will pick up five global champions who under the PLI scheme shall be permitted to participate.

"Global and the local will together make India a good manufacturing talented country, supporting the global chain. We will also promote 5 Indian companies to become national champions," Prasad said. The Minister said India has become the second largest mobile manufacturing country in the world, and is now working to lead the segment globally. "Self-reliant India is not an India of isolation or not an inward-looking country. It is an India that enhances its capacity and develops a strong ecosystem as well as a robust supply chain linked with the global economy. A self-reliant robust India is not against any country," Prasad said.

The government had notified three schemes on April 1 for the promotion of electronics manufacturing. These plans were Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS), Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0), and production linked incentive (PLI) for large scale manufacturing. The minister said the government is trying to create employment for 15 to 20 lakh people in the coming few years in the electronics manufacturing sector.