The investments by the component manufacturers will generate employment opportunities and boost the overall mobile industry
Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) has informed that mobile component manufacturers would invest around $2 billion by March 2019. A cumulative investment of around 1.5-2 billion from Print Circuit Boards assembly producers is expected for the current fiscal.
ICEA plans to raise the overall number of mobile manufacturing facilities to 1,800 and generate 50 lakh employment opportunities by 2025.
Mobile manufacturing industry growth
The Chairman said that mobile phone segment factories have increased from more than 2-fold in this fiscal. The current number says there are 268 manufacturing units in India that deal in the local production of mobile phone component. ICEA data shows that between 2017-18 and 2018-19 fiscals, handset makers have increased from 59 to 127, battery units have shot up 3-fold from 20 to 65 and mobile charger units have also increased from 27 to 130.
According to ICEA, India manufactured mobile handsets worth Rs. 1.32 lakh crores in 2017. Mohindroo said that the segment had contributed to the country’s savings of around Rs. 3 lakh crores in foreign exchange in lieu of import substitution and created a domestic value addition of over 60,000. The ICEA Chairman said that India had witnessed an unparalleled growth in the mobile phone segment in the current phase.
Make for world
India should now focus on ‘Make for world’ in addition to ‘Make for India’. Pankaj Mohindroo has highlighted the need for India to look at value addition, enhance ease of doing business to boost mobile phone manufacturing. He added that India should start making for the world for the overall industry growth.
Mobile phone makers had recently sought for a 10-year tax holiday that would help in increasing the exports and industry. A recent ICEA-McKinsey report projects an industry growth of around $230 billion by 2025.
