Government Likely To Introduce New Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme, Says IT Secretary

New Delhi, Jul 22 (KNN) The Indian government plans to introduce a new scheme to promote electronics component manufacturing, according to S. Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

This initiative will replace the previous Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS), which is not expected to be revived, reported Mint.

In a recent interview, Krishnan stated, "There won't be a SPECS 2.0. One portion of what the scheme covered will be the new component scheme, the other portion which is related to semiconductor will be covered separately."

The announcement of this new scheme is likely to occur outside the Union budget framework.

The IT Secretary emphasised the government's commitment to encouraging electronics component manufacturing, noting that extensive consultations with industry stakeholders have been conducted.

However, the specific details of the scheme are yet to be presented to the finance ministry.

Regarding the ongoing Rs 76,000 crore financial incentive scheme for semiconductor manufacturing, Krishnan revealed that approximately Rs 7,000 crore remains unallocated.

This remaining corpus could potentially support projects requiring lower incentives, including packaging units by companies such as US-based Micron and the Murugappa Group's CG Power, as well as the Tata group's fab and packaging unit.

Looking ahead, Krishnan indicated that further support for semiconductor fabs might be necessary, stating, "Our case would be that the job is not yet done. We would need at least 2-3 more fabs and some other facilities in the country."

The Secretary also addressed the issue of customs duties, emphasising the need for a careful, component-by-component approach to support domestic production without hindering export competitiveness.

He stressed the importance of India securing a significant position in the global electronics manufacturing value chain, aiming to increase value addition from the current 18-20 per cent to 35-40 per cent.

Krishnan concluded by highlighting the growing importance of electronics in global manufacturing, asserting that India should leverage its large market potential to establish a substantial presence in this sector.

(KNN Bureau)