Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said foreign direct investment (FDI) in electronic manufacturing has touched an all-time high of Rs 1.23 lakh crore in 2016 on the back of enabling policies of the government and its Make in India initiative.
The FDI stood at Rs 11,000 crore in 2014, the Minister added.
Speaking during an event, Prasad said it was important to develop electronics manufacturing in India as a study had predicted that by 2020, the country’s import bill of electronics items would surpass the fuel import bills.
The Minister said the government had set up electronics manufacturing clusters in different parts of the country for enhancing manufacturing and when it comes to mobile manufacturing, the volume has reached 11 crore units in 2015-16.
In value terms, mobile phones worth Rs 54,000 crore were made in India and this is likely to touch Rs 94,000 crore in 2016-17.
Apart from electronic manufacturing clusters, the government is offering better tax regime and incentives of MSIPS for electronic manufacturing. The government had removed basic customs duty (10 per cent) and special additional duty (four per cent) proposed on charger, adaptor, batteries and wired headsets.
By Baishakhi Dutta
