Proper scaling up of electronic manufacturing can contribute $1 trillion to economy: Ravi Shankar Prasad

‘By 2025, we will manufacture 1 billion phones, 50 million TVs and 50 million hardware devices, including laptops and tablets,’ said the Communications and IT Minister

Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad. File

Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday said scaling up of electronic manufacturing in the country can alone contribute $1 trillion to the economy.

The government has seen interest from global majors like Apple, Samsung and their contract manufacturers to scale up production in India.

“I don’t have the slightest doubt that by proper scaling of electronic manufacturing alone, we will be able to contribute USD 1 trillion to the country’s kitty and that is what I am aiming for and that’s what we are sure to succeed,” Mr Prasad said at an Assocham event.

The government has set a target for the country to become a $5-trillion economy by 2025.

“By 2025, we will manufacture 1 billion phones, 50 million TVs and 50 million hardware devices, including laptops and tablets.

“India has a huge potential for PCBs (printed circuit board), laptops for IoT devices. Whole idea is that India must become a big global centre of mobile phone manufacturing,” Mr Prasad said.

He said talent in India, ability to innovate, and demographic dividend of the country have enough potential to make India get propelled as the top manufacturing destination of the world.

The minister said the production-linked incentive scheme floated by the government attracted global majors, with promise to make mobile phones worth about ₹10 lakh crore, out of which devices worth ₹7 lakh crore will be exported.

In October, the government cleared 16 proposals from domestic and international companies entailing an investment of ₹11,000 crore under the PLI scheme to manufacture mobile phones worth ₹10.5 lakh crore in the next five years.

The companies include iPhone maker Apple’s contract manufacturers Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron and Pegatron, apart from Samsung and Rising Star.

Domestic companies whose proposals have been approved include Lava, Bhagwati (Micromax), Padget Electronics (Dixon Technologies), UTL Neolyncs and Optiemus.

The government expects that approved projects will generate over 2 lakh direct jobs and nearly 6 lakh indirect employment opportunities.