Centre approves 17 more projects worth ₹7,172 crore under ECMS

Aequs, Uno Minda, and Zetwerk's arm among firms that got approval

The government on Monday approved 17 more applications under the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS).

 

They include three plants for manufacturing camera modules, nine multilayer printed circuit board (PCB) plants, and two units making optical transceivers, and units building components used in mobiles and other electronic items.

 

With this, the number of projects approved under the scheme now stands at 24.

 

Investment in these plants is expected to be ₹7,172 crore, and production worth ₹65,111 crore is anticipated.

 

The manufacturing units will come up in nine states/Union Territories including Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, and Madhya Pradesh.

 

Among the major players, homegrown companies such as Aequs Consumer Products; Jabil Circuit India; Zetwerk’s subsidiaries Zetfab India and Zetchem Supply Chain Services; Uno Minda; and Syrma SGS subsidiary Syrma Mobility got the nod.

 

The government has kept the focus of the scheme narrow and on specific components, rather than spreading it to cover all parts, as a deliberate tactic, Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

 

“We focused on a set of components that are very critical for the long-term growth of the electronics manufacturing ecosystem,” Vaishnaw said.

 

The industry needs to focus on three key parameters, which include developing domestic design capabilities, achieving six-sigma quality levels in all products manufactured here, and establishing local suppliers for raw materials, Vaishnaw said.

 

“Whatever be the cost, whatever be the effort, whatever be the hard work that has to be put in, this is something which has to be done. It’s one of those non-negotiables that has to be made a part of our journey,” he said.

 

To ensure that the design component is included in the plans of companies setting up units, the government may ask applicants to give details of the domestic design capability they are developing, Vaishnaw said.

 

“If we don’t have the design capabilities, then that world will not remain open to us for a very long period,” he said.

 

Among the projects approved on Monday are India’s first optical transceiver-manufacturing facility, the country’s first ever 40-layer PCB manufacturing unit, and also the first quartz crystal factory.

 

The ministry will continue to engage with the industry and soon introduce a skilling framework for electronics manufacturing, where the government will assist companies in collaborating with organisations that have a track record in social fields, the minister said.

 

Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of the India Cellular and Electronics Association, said:

 

 “ECMS marks a turning-point in India’s electronics manufacturing. This scheme is the catalyst that will build one of the world’s most competitive ecosystems across components, sub-assemblies and capital goods.”