‘Our goal is to build a $300 billion electronics manufacturing industry in India by 2025-26': MoS IT

India is striving to become an electronics manufacturing hub with a value of $300 billion in the next four years, said state electronics and Minister of State (MoS) Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Wednesday at an industry event in New Delhi, organised by the US Chamber of Commerce’s US-India Business Council (USIBC). 

“India’s electronics manufacturing industry is currently at $75 billion. Our ambition is to build a $300 billion electronics manufacturing industry in India by 2025-26,” he said. 

Chandrasekhar said that India’s manufacturing capabilities have “strengthened” during Covid-19 and many companies now see it as a “preferred partner” in the global supply chain. 

He further said that the government is working on a comprehensive framework of laws which includes the Digital Data Protection Law to address the data protection concerns, while the National Data Governance Framework Policy will create rules for non-personalised data and anonymised data. 

The new laws on data protection will roll out in the next 3-4 months after consultation with industry, according to the minister. 

“The new legislative framework will act as a catalyst for the Indian economy by enabling more innovation, more start-ups and at the same time also protecting the citizens of India in terms of safety and trust and accountability,” he added. 

In August, the central government recalled the 2019 draft personal data protection (PDP) Bill. The broader legal framework will replace it. 

“We are now at a moment when geostrategic and geo-economic convergence will shape much of the near future. This demands that the US and India embrace a closer economic partnership and literally deliver the goods for their people,” said Atul Keshap, president of USIBC. 

After Covid-19 led to disruptions, several countries and big corporations have decided to build multiple manufacturing hubs at home and in countries with which they have friendlier relations. Though Vietnam and Philippines have emerged as top manufacturing destinations due to cheap labor, India too has managed to attract global manufacturers to India with production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, which cover smartphones, and laptops along with IT and telecom products. 

The volume of PCs manufactured in India has grown by three to four times in the past year, even though most of it is still assembly, analysts and industry experts told Mint in May. “18% of all PCs sold in India in the first quarter of 2022 were manufactured locally as compared to the single digit figure a year ago,” said at that time. 

“Our approach is focused on expanding India's innovation ecosystem and the internet and technology are going to be big enablers in the continued expansion of our economy." 

According to an August report by ICEA and ICRIER, India’s electronics exports have tripled from $5.8 billion in 2015 to $16 billion in 2022. More OEMs are expanding manufacturing in India to reduce over-dependence on China. Last month, Bloomberg reported that Apple is planning to start manufacturing the iPhone 14 in India within two months of its release. Typically manufacturing of new iPhones starts in India after six to nine months of release.