India’s electronics exports have been touching record highs every year since 2014. The electronics export segment is one of those rare highlights amid a rather sluggish overall manufacturing sector in India. Now, the Indian government is planning to capitalise further on this green blip.
According to a report published by Bloomberg (pay-walled), the PM Modi led central government is preparing to roll-out a slew of incentives to attract even more foreign mobile manufacturing units in the country. Currently, India manufactures ₹1.70 lakh crore worth of phones (~$24 Billion). The government has set out an ambitious plan to take this up to ₹13.46 lakh crore (~$190 Billion) by 2025. And steps towards the same are reportedly already in order.
To start with, this year’s federal budget will see India offering subsidized locally borrowed loans to foreign mobile manufacturers, according to a Government official who spoke anonymously to Bloomberg. Further, the government is planning to create special industrial clusters which will already be cleared for various foreign unit taxations and customs. To top that, the Indian government will ramp up infrastructure support in these clusters, including speeding up of road construction, electricity and water provisions etc.
These measures however are yet to be confirmed by the Government.
In terms of mobile manufacturing, India has tasted record success over the past 5 years, The country has seen manufacturing major Foxconn aggressively expanding iPhone production in the country. While initially being manufactured for domestic consumption, a large percentage of India-made iPhones are now being exported worldwide. Another major player who has set up a massive mobile manufacturing base in India is Samsung. The South Korean major has set up the world’s largest mobile manufacturing facility in the industrial city of Noida.
