Synopsis
The government approved Rs 7,104 crore under the Electronic Component Manufacturing Scheme, selecting 29 firms, including Foxconn, TDK subsidiaries, Dixon, Syrma SGS, and NeST Group. These projects aim to generate Rs 84,515 crore in production and 14,246 jobs, covering components from rare-earth magnets to flexible PCBs.Companies that do not invest in designing capabilities will be “weeded out” from the scheme and disbursals will be stopped by changing the guidelines, electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on the occasion.
The latest group of 29 applicants are projected to churn out production worth Rs 84,515 crore from facilities spread across eight states, employing 14,246 people. Subsidiaries of global contract electronics majors Foxconn and TDK Corporation, and domestic contract manufacturers Dixon, Syrma SGS and NeST Group are among the chosen firms.
Vaishnaw sought inputs from the industry within the next 15 days on a structured mechanism to set up regular buyer-seller meetings, establish six sigma standards and boost workforce training.
"We have the leeway to change the scheme. If that requirement arises, we will not hesitate in changing the parameters to make sure the industry looks at the long-term growth of the country and not just the short-term growth of the company," the minister told component manufacturers.
The latest tranche features, for the first time, domestic production of rare earth permanent magnets from rare-earth oxides, surface mount device passives and flexible printed circuit boards, as well as six projects on high-precision capital equipment. It also aims to establish facilities for critical components such as antennas, heat sinks, transducers, inductors and metal film resistors under ECMS.
Vaishnaw said Indian firms must invest in designing across the value chain including conceptual, engineering and manufacturing designs, as well as general arrangement drawings. "To capture a large part of the value of the products, the designing has to be in India," he said.
He reiterated the government's earlier stance that regular monthly buyer-seller meetings be held for industry verticals to promote domestic capital equipment and products that are hitting the market.
The minister stressed the ongoing crisis in West Asia has not impacted the production and trade of electronics so far, and the latest ECMS picks were not a reaction to it. "We all believe and hope the war will be a short-term thing. So, it hasn't been considered in the ECMS process," he said.
According to officials, enough funds remain for the scheme. In the latest budget, the government announced Rs 40,000 crores for ECMS, up from the initial allocation of Rs 22,919 crore last year.
