The Karnataka government aims to transform Mysuru into a complementary cluster after tech hub Bengaluru, and the centre is currently considering investments in this area.
The state government disclosed on Monday that seven domestic tech companies, including Kaynes Technology, have planned investments in Karnataka’s electronics cluster in Mysuru.
The Karnataka government has allocated 235.5 acres in Kochanahalli Industrial Area, Mysuru district, to establish an electronics manufacturing cluster (EMC). The total project expense, excluding land costs, is Rs 245.67 crore. This budget includes Rs 122.83 crore in financial aid from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Kaynes Technology India has expressed interest in being an anchor unit with a planned investment of Rs. 1.5 billion on 20 acres of land, while Gopalan Aerospace has proposed an investment of Rs. 2 billion on 50 acres of land. Additionally, Krypton India Solutions has proposed investing Rs. 1.75 billion in 10 acres of land.
The other four companies planning investments include Virtulive Technologies, which intends to invest Rs. 200 million in 20 acres of land; Wuerth Elektronik India, proposing Rs. 300 billion for 10 acres; Proxelera, planning Rs. 200 million in 5 acres; and LeePra Technologies, aiming for Rs. 25 million in 2 acres.
Priyank Kharge, the State IT minister, informed the Economic Times that the area will promote semiconductor manufacturing.
He further mentioned that while Bengaluru will remain India’s primary semiconductor design hub, Mysuru will be a supplementary cluster for semiconductor-related activities. To facilitate this initiative, the state has requested production-linked incentives and fiscal support from MeitY.
Regarding the project’s progress, it was disclosed that the application and detailed project report have been submitted to the Centre. They are addressing all queries from the Software Technology Park of India (STPI), and the latter conducted a physical site inspection on May 28 this year.
The application is currently under review for approval by MeitY.
Kharge acknowledged Mysuru as a suitable location for the project. The EMC cluster includes established electronics players like Kaynes Technologies and others specialising in printed circuit board assembly and with a longstanding presence in the same area.
Mysuru also has favourable proximity to the Kabini River since semiconductor manufacturing requires an adequate water supply. Transportation facilities, including the Mangaluru port, are also located nearby.
As Kharge pointed out, the region also has significant skill centres, such as the Lahari Common Facility Centre, which provides advanced testing and certification under the EMC scheme.
The EMC scheme, launched by the Centre in April 2020, aims to address industry infrastructure challenges and bolster India’s electronics manufacturing ecosystem.
On March 31 last year, Karnataka applied to MeitY for an EMC under the EMC 2.0 scheme in Mysuru district.