Domestic LED manufacturers to get preference for govt projects

The government has decided to give preference to domestic producers of LED lights in procurement for various projects.
LED (light-emitting diodes) lights are considered to be more energy-efficient.
"Domestic LED manufacturers will get 50 per cent preference for government procurement projects. We are working towards a target of net zero imports by 2020 for electronics sector and attract investments of USD 100 billion by 2020," said S K Marwah, director, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, at 'LED Summit' organised here by Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India.
There are some 200 LED manufactures in India, and government programs such as Smart Cities, Startup India and Digital India have given impetus to the sector, he said.

As many as 215 companies are participating in the three-day expo and 88 of them are international firms from China, Taiwan, South Korea, etc, which marks 39 per cent increase in overseas participation against last year, the organisers said.
Speaking at the event, Electric Lamp and Component Manufacturers' Association of India (ELCOMA) general manager D Christopher said, "CFL (lights) will be extinct by 2018 as they will be replaced by LED. By 2020, the lighting business is expected to reach around Rs 26,000 crore, of which Rs 23,000 crore will be contributed by LED."
To reduce lighting power consumption from 18 per cent to 13 per cent by 2020, the existing domestic light sockets and street lights should be replaced with LED, he said.