India will emerge as a parallel production hub to China for global markets in electronics manufacturing as the government shifts attention to boost the making of sophisticated, high-technology products in the country, says telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. “There is a surge towards India as a manufacturing destination, and this will only grow,” Prasad tells TOI in an interview. Excerpts:
How crucial is the manufacturing of electronics in ‘Make in India’ drive?
We are aggressively pursuing the manufacturing of electronic goods in India because if this is not done now, we may stare at a huge foreign exchange bill in the coming years which can be catastrophic for the economy. India is buying electronic goods at a rapid pace and if we do not start manufacturing the products, the import bill by 2020 is forecasted to be alarming at $400 billion, which will be more than oil import bill.
China has emerged as a major manufacturing location for electronics and is seen as a factory for the world. Do you think that India has the capacity to match up to our neighbour?
I want the production of electronics to be at the center-stage of India’s manufacturing eco-system. We want India to be a global manufacturing hub for electronics, running parallel to China. We are confident of achieving this task, and it should happen very soon.
Have the incentives offered by the government yielded any results?
We are seeing a rush as far as new investments are concerned. Companies are attracted by India’s huge domestic consuming market as well as a pro-active government, which believes in transparent decision-making. We have received 72 proposals to the tune of Rs 23,000 crore, of which 42 proposals worth Rs 12,000 crore have already been cleared. Companies that are investing include Korea’s Samsung, Germany’s Bosch, Japan’s Nidec and Panasonic. These are in segments such as electronic components, telecom network equipment, LED, consumer electronics, automotive, solar panels and strategic electronics. We have even brought in medical electronics within the ambit of this sector as 100% FDI is allowed here.