In a significant move to strengthen India's electronics manufacturing ecosystem, the central government has given the green light to 22 new proposals under a key incentive scheme. These proposals, involving major players like Samsung, Foxconn, Tata Electronics, and Dixon, promise investments of nearly Rs 42,000 crore.
Major Investment to Reduce Import Reliance
The approvals under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) are projected to catalyze domestic production worth a staggering Rs 2.6 lakh crore in the coming years. This initiative directly targets a critical weakness in India's electronics story. While the assembly of finished goods like mobile phones and computers has grown, imports of vital components have remained high, with manufacturers heavily dependent on countries like China.
This new components programme is designed to augment the success of the broader Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. It will encourage the local manufacturing of essential items across 11 categories, including printed circuit boards (PCBs), capacitors, enclosures, and lithium-ion cells.
Key Players and Geographic Spread
The list of companies investing under the scheme highlights India's growing appeal as a global manufacturing hub. It includes vendors for tech giant Apple, which is ramping up iPhone production in India as an alternative to China. Alongside Foxconn and Tata Electronics, other notable investors are ATL Battery Tech, Hindalco Industries, and Motherson Electronic Components.
The investments will be geographically distributed across several industrial states. Maharashtra and Karnataka will host four facilities each. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana will see three facilities each, making them other major production centres under this scheme.
Building on Previous Approvals and Semiconductor Push
This latest batch of approvals follows two earlier tranches. The government had previously cleared seven projects with an investment of Rs 5,500 crore, followed by 17 proposals entailing Rs 7,172 crore. Commenting on the progress, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw credited the government's focus on reforms, enabling policies, and speedy execution for generating such investments, noting that the results are now visible across sectors.
In a related development for the electronics supply chain, Vaishnaw also provided an update on India's semiconductor ambitions. He stated that four chip companies are set to begin commercial production within this year. He indicated that nearly all top automobile and telecom firms will source semiconductors from these domestic fabs.
"The plants which started pilot production last year, they are the ones that will get into commercial production earlier, which is Kaynes and CG Semi. Micron has also started pilot production very recently. They will also go next month. The Tata plant in Assam will start pilot production by the middle of the year, and by the end of the year they will start commercial production," the minister elaborated. This integrated push, from components to semiconductors, aims to create a robust and self-reliant electronics manufacturing base for India.
