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Will push India to trump China in arena of mobile manufacturing, says IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

WION Web Team
New Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Dec 14, 2020, 03:21 PM IST
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File photo of Ravi Shankar Prasad Photograph:(Zee News Network)

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India’s telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said that the country is heading towards trumping China in the arena of mobile manufacturing

India’s telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said that the country is heading towards trumping China in the arena of mobile manufacturing. Prasad added that India will surpass China in terms of manufacturing electronics due to the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, which according to Prasad continues to attract global industry players to the country.

In a bid to expand on the PLI, he said that India would build on the momentum to invite companies to manufacture more electronics, not just mobile phones. He spoke about extending the PLI to other sectors in this regard.

“We wanted India to become the second largest mobile manufacturer in the world. Now I am pushing India to surpass China. That’s my goal and I am very clearly defining it,” Prasad said at the annual general meeting of FICCI, an industry chamber. In 2017, India became the second largest manufacturer of cellular devices, behind only China.

2019’s National Policy on Electronics intends to bring in turnover in electronic manufacturing amounting to over Rs 26 lakh crores by the end of 2025. Out of this amount, Rs 23 lakh crores are ideally expected to emanate from the mobile phone segment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has touted India as the alternate manufacturing destination as the global rhetoric against China in the aftermath of the pandemic deepens.

The PLI could ease doing business in the country. “PLI is designed to enable global champion companies to come to India and make Indian companies national champion,” he further added.

As per the PLI scheme, companies deemed eligible can avail SOPs of around Rs 48,000 crores. Already, 16 proposals from both local and international companies have been cleared, amounting for up to Rs 11,000 crores. Within its ambit, mobile phones worth Rs 10.5 lakh crores will be manufactured over the next five years.

Companies that have availed the scheme’s benefits so far include iPhone makers Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron, Hon Hai. Additionally, Samsung has also joined in, along with domestic players like Lava and Micromax.

Just two days ago, Uttar Pradesh government approved incentives for Samsung to move its factory from China to the state.