Mobile Phone Manufacturing Proposals Worth Rs 11-Lakh Crore Lined Up, Says RS Prasad

As many as 22 domestic and international firms, including iPhone maker Apple's contract manufacturers as well as Samsung, Lava, Dixon and so forth, have lined up with proposals for mobile phones production worth Rs 11 lakh crore over the next five years, Union Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday.

The minister said these proposals under the government's Rs 41,000-crore production-linked incentive scheme for mobile phone manufacturing are expected to create around 12 lakh jobs, 3 lakh direct and 9 lakh indirect employment opportunities, in the country.

“There will be huge (mobile phone) production of around Rs 11 lakh crore, huge export of around Rs 7 lakh crore and great employment opportunity for 3 lakh direct and 9 lakh indirect people. I personally thank all the companies that have applied,” Prasad told reporters.

He said that a total of 22 companies have filed applications under the PLI scheme from various countries including Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, Austria, etc.

“The benchmark for international companies was that they make mobile phones priced at or above Rs 15,000. International companies that have applied are Samsung, Foxconn Hon Hai, Rising Star, Wistron and Pegatron,” Prasad said.

Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron and Pegatron are contract manufacturers for Apple iPhones.

There is no price limit for Indian companies under the scheme.

In terms of revenue, Apple accounts for 37 per cent and Samsung 22 per cent for global sales of mobile phones and the PLI scheme is expected to increase their manufacturing base manifold in the country, an official statement issued by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) said.

The minister further said these companies will make thousands of crores investments based on the approval of their proposal.

Prasad said Indian companies, including Lava, Dixon Technologies, Bhagwati (Micromax), Padget Electronics, Sojo Manufacturing Services and Optiemus Electronics, have applied under the scheme and 10 companies have filed applications under the Specified Electronic Components Segment.

The companies that have applied for components production of around Rs 45,000 crore include AT&S, Ascent Circuits, Visicon, Walsin, Sahasra, Vitesco and Neolync.

There were no applications from Chinese companies under the scheme.

The minister said India is not averse to investment from any country but companies will have to follow rules related to security clearance, etc.

The government notified production linked incentive scheme for large scale electronics manufacturing, the scheme for promotion of manufacturing of electronic components and semiconductors, and the modified electronics manufacturing clusters (EMC 2.0) scheme.

The government expects to attract Rs 1 lakh crore investment in the sector and sees a target manufacturing revenue potential of Rs 10 lakh crore by 2025.

The fresh proposals have exceeded the government's manufacturing revenue target but the final outcome will depend on the decision of the screening committee that will select projects eligible for incentives.