Electronics products in India is expected to grow US$400bn by 2020: Kapil Sibal

Indian electronics hardware production constitutes only around 1.3% of the global hardware production and it is estimated that demand of electronics products and systems in India is expected to grow to US$400bn by 2020. This was stated by Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Communications and IT, while addressing the Consultative Committee meeting of the ministry. He pointed out that at the conventional rate of growth of domestic production, it would only be possible to meet demand of about USD 100 Billion by 2020. The Government recognizes that sustaining growth in IT and telecom is hugely dependent on our ability to foster Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) in the country, he added. The minister said that while there have been concerted efforts for rapid growth of the electronics (including telecom) hardware manufacturing sector in the past like 100% FDI permitted under automatic route, no Industrial license requirement, these efforts have not led to a substantial impact. He also pointed out that given India’s growing strength in chip design and embedded software, the increasing importance of design in product development has the potential to make India a favoured destination for ESDM. The minister went on to outline some of the initiatives that have been taken for the development of electronics (including telecom) hardware manufacturing in the country: National Policy on Electronics (NPE) 2012 National Telecom Policy – 2012 (NTP-2012) Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) Scheme Modified Special Incentive Package (M-SIPS) Scheme Setting up Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication Units Preference to Domestically Manufactured Electronic Goods (Preferential Market Access) Notification by the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) on 5th October 2012 for Government Procurement and Government funded projects Electronics Development Fund (EDF) Scheme for mandatory registration of identified Electronic Products for meeting specified safety standards Export Promotion Scheme for ESDM Industry According Priority Sector Status to IT purchases Declaring Mobile phones as goods of special importance under the CST Act, 1956 Communication and Marketing Members of Parliament attending the meeting raised a number of issues concerning posts, telecom and IT. Members underlined the need for adequate number of post offices. Some members also pointed out the problem of connectivity on BSNL, especially in rural areas and on highways. A member raised the issue of the difficult conditions of Dak Sevaks. A member raised the issue of inadequate handling of e-waste and desired a sysem be created for dumping of e-waste. A member welcoming the initiative to encourage ‘electronics manufacturing’, urged for strengthening the existent public sector industry. The following members of Parliament were present at the meeting: PK Biju, Sanjay Nirupam, SG Naik, Shivraj Singh Lodhi and Vinay Pandey. Also present were Minister of State for Communications and IT, Dr. (Smt.) Kruparani Killi, Secretaries for the Departments of IT, Posts and Telecom and other senior officers of the ministry of Communications and IT.