The central government has taken special initiative to build a strong technology and electronics industry on Indian soil. That is why a scheme called ‘Production-Linked Incentive’ (PLI) was announced in 2021. One of the objectives of the scheme is to encourage foreign companies to manufacture ‘Made in India’ products. In this regard, the Government of India has been very successful in meeting this objective in the last two years. As proof, many famous brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple are now manufacturing their smartphones locally. It is heard again that Nothing (Nothing) organization is also going to join this list soon. Now again, the central government is offering electronics component manufacturers to localize production under a new version of the ‘Production-Linked Incentive’ (PLI) scheme.
Note that most of the smartphones sold in India come with the ‘Made in India’ label. Although the devices are not actually manufactured in India. In this case, the devices are built by importing various components. However, import duties are burdened by tech brands as they import components from foreign countries and assemble them locally here. Due to which it is not possible to reduce the price of mobile phones. It is for this reason that the Government of India is currently actively engaged in building a mature electronics manufacturing ecosystem. As part of which it has become very necessary to make mobile manufacturers as well as component developers interested in expanding their business in this country.
According to a recent report, under the new PLI scheme – some component manufacturing companies from China, South Korea, Taiwan and America are being attracted to expand business in the country whose main manufacturing plants are located in China. The report also stated that the Government of India has targeted $300 billion (about Rs. 24,88,800 crore) worth of electronics components locally by 2026.
Recently, the Union Finance Ministry has taken an important step to achieve this goal. Whereas the import duty on essential components used for mobile manufacturing has been reduced from 15% to 10%. This list includes – Screws, SIM Sockets, Metal Mechanical Components, Battery Covers, Front Covers, Primary Lenses, Back Covers, GSM Antennas, Polyurethane Foam Cases, Conductive Cloths, LCD Conductive Foams, LCD Foams, BT Foams, Heat dissipation sticker, battery cover sticker, protective film for primary lens, mylar for LCD FPC, film-front flash and side key.
It is believed that this new policy on import duty will play a significant role in creating a self-reliant electronics industry in the country and increasing exports of locally manufactured smartphones. Even the Indian government’s efforts to attract electronics component manufacturing companies to build in the country may succeed due to this move.
