Gwalior Telecom Manufacturing Zone secures ₹5,500 cr investment commitments

Investor meetings in Delhi and Mumbai attract Rs 5,500 crore in commitments for India's first Telecom Manufacturing Zone, with the project expected to generate 18,000 jobs

Investor meetings for India’s first Telecom Manufacturing Zone (TMZ) in Delhi and Mumbai have secured ₹5,500 crore in investment commitments and are projected to create 18,000 jobs in Gwalior, Union Telecommunications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday.

 

The minister, speaking at the second investors’ meet for India’s first TMZ in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, added that the project is planned to be inaugurated within two to three months, along with the opening of individual units. The second phase entails an additional 400-500 acres of land. Its first phase covers 170 acres and includes 27 testing laboratories and security certification facilities funded by a ₹500-crore Central grant.

   

Scindia and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav met investors from companies such as initial public offering (IPO)-bound Jio Platforms, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Foxconn, Bank of America, Dixon Technologies, Nokia, Ericsson, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Sterlite Technologies, Polycab India, and Qualcomm to secure investment commitments for the TMZ.

 

The meeting witnessed participation from nearly 18 leading industry players from across the telecom ecosystem, with the latest commitments expected to generate close to 4,000 employment opportunities. "This builds upon the ₹3,500 crore investment commitments and 14,000 jobs announced during the inaugural Investors’ Roundtable in New Delhi held last week, marking another significant milestone towards the TMZ’s vision of attracting over ₹10,000 crore in investments," the ministry said in a statement.

 

Amit Agrawal, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, who also heads the special purpose vehicle that will manage the TMZ, said the zone is designed "to create a single nucleus which will serve as the hub and the ecosystem node for the entire country.” The TMZ, much like a special economic zone but for telecom manufacturing, will be an integrated ecosystem that will bring together the complete telecom value chain, including design, research and development, testing, manufacturing, components, semiconductors, optical fibre, telecom equipment, and allied industries, supported by common plug-and-play testing infrastructure and world-class facilities.

 

"The Prime Minister believes that we will have to become a product nation from a services nation. And if we have to become a product nation, then it is important to create IP, to add value," Scindia said.

 

Madhya Pradesh has provided land at ₹1 per square metre and power at ₹2 per unit for five years for the TMZ. Highlighting the state’s industrial climate, Yadav said, "In Madhya Pradesh, even from an economic point of view, we have a record of 50-60 years. There has never been any labour problem.”

 

The state also offers a 50 per cent capital subsidy and ₹13,000 per employee for skilling. Gwalior has 100 engineering colleges producing 12,000 to 14,000 graduates annually in disciplines such as electrical and electronics engineering.