Rs 17,000-cr worth projects cleared for electronics manufacturing

Government has cleared 69 projects envisaging investment of Rs 17,112 crore out of the Rs 1.2 lakh crore-worth proposals received under the electronics manufacturing scheme till date.

"69 out of about 160 proposals under the MSIPS (Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme) have been cleared. Total investment committed in these projects is Rs 17,112 crore," IT and Electronics Secretary Aruna Sharma told PTI in an interview.

Till date, proposals worth Rs 1.2 lakh crore were received by the government for electronic manufacturing.

Sharma said projects worth about Rs 10,000 crore were rejected for benefits under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (MSIPS).

The scheme provides financial incentives to offset disability and attracts investments in the electronics hardware. It provides subsidy for investments in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 25 per cent in non-SEZs, is open to receive applications till July 26, 2020.

The government launched MSIPS with a view to pushing the domestic manufacturing of electronic products to reduce dependence on imports and check forex outflows.

Total import of electronics goods were valued at Rs 2.25 lakh crore in 2014-15 against Rs 1.95 lakh crore in the previous year.

Total domestic production of electronic goods based on figures provided by the Electronics Industry Associations was at Rs 1,90,366 crore in 2014-15 against Rs 1,80,454 crore in the previous year.

Automotive electronics components manufacturing has attracted investment of about Rs 4,284 crore followed by IT and telecom products at Rs 3,500 crore, electronic components and strategic electronics (Rs 2,300 crore each), consumer appliances (Rs 2,000 crore), LED and solar (Rs 947 crore), medical electronics (Rs 600 crore), semiconductor ATMP (Rs 500 crore) and industrial electronics (Rs 235 crore), among others.
The government is keen on pushing manufacturing of

electronic circuit boards, LCD screens and their packaging in the country to push employment generation, Sharma said.

"We are very keen to promote manufacturing of printed circuit boards (PCBs), LCD screens and packaging of LCD as it has huge employment potential.

"There is an open invitation from our side for serious players. We will work them to resolve all constraint that is possible from our end," she said.

PCBs are base of all electronic products on which components are laid. As per PCB industry body IPCA, there are about 15 PCB manufacturers in the country and about 75 per cent of domestic PCB requirement is estimated to be met through imports.

Besides, there is no company in India that manufactures LCD panel which are widely used in all modern electronic products like mobile phones, television, medical devices, among others.

By 2020, India's LCD panel import bill is expected to touch USD 10 billion.

Business tycoon Anil Agarwal, promoter of Volcan Investments, has announced plan to set up LCD manufacturing unit in India with an investment of USD 10 billion.

Agrawal expects to create jobs for 30,000 people alone from this proposed LCD panel manufacturing plant under Twinstar Display Technologies.

According to Indian Cellular Association National President Pankaj Mohindroo, LCD packaging industry has huge growth potential in India with boom in smartphone segment.

"The investment in LCD packaging segment is small compared to LCD panel manufacturing but it has huge employment opportunity," Mohindroo said.

LCD packaging work includes making the display presentable by use of sensors, backlight, among others.