Ravi Shankar Prasad, the union minister of IT & electronics, has said that the government is going to transform the Digital India program into more segment-focused one with smartphones playing a crucial role at the core.
The minister said that the government will make digital ecosystem of the country will be different from others, having a complete integration of mobile phones, Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and bank accounts.
Prasad is also affirmative that they will empower farmers, education, healthcare and to improve quality of life.
He also said that India’s mobile manufacturing industry will be worth Rs 94,000 crore by this fiscal end, having increased by a dramatic 185% over last year in value terms at Rs 54,000 crore.
Prasad notified that the focus of the ministry will be towards a complete ecosystem for local manufacturing and taking it to a level where it can become an export hub.
“Not only mobile, we have given duty differential in areas of batteries, chargers and many others. It was required… to accelerate manufacturing in India,” he added.
Also, according to estimates, FDI in electronic manufacturing has touched an all-time high of Rs 1.23 lakh crore in 2016 with investment from 38 mobile manufacturing companies that have generated over 40,000 direct jobs and 1.25 lakh indirect employment.
The minister said that India is commercially a very promising proposition for players looking to set up manufacturing in India.
“I don’t see Indian purchasing any mobile less than a smartphone because they understand the worth of a smartphone. From desktop, to laptop to smartphone – the journey of India has been phenomenal and it is going to make an empowered India,” Prasad said.
By EB Bureau
