New Delhi, Feb 14 (KNN) In a move aimed at bolstering domestic electronics manufacturing, the Indian government has announced plans for a groundbreaking incentive scheme.

This initiative, disclosed by a senior official from the Ministry of Electronics and IT on Tuesday seeks to stimulate the production of electronic components alongside semiconductors, reported ET.

Speaking at the launch event of the indigenous Milkyway tablets, MeitY Secretary S Krishnan emphasised the government's commitment to fostering local value addition and promoting the 'Make in India' initiative.

Krishnan expressed optimism about the private sector's increased involvement, foreseeing a pivotal role in transforming India into both a product-centric nation and a major producer of electronic components.

Krishnan, alongside Consumers Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh, unveiled the 4G tablets developed by the EPIC Foundation, a non-profit organisation.

These tablets, conceptualised and designed domestically, will be manufactured locally through collaboration between electronic manufacturing services company VVDN and United Telecoms (UTL), the makers of JioPhone.

EPIC Foundation's Founder and Chairman, Ajai Chowdhry, highlighted the collaborative efforts involved in designing the Milkyway tablets, acknowledging the crucial support provided by Mediatek.

Chowdhry underscored EPIC's commitment to facilitating local production by sharing design resources and encouraging partnerships with interested stakeholders.

The Milkyway tablets, running on the Android platform, offer various configurations, including different RAM and storage options, alongside front and back cameras.

Priced at Rs 9,999, these tablets integrate indigenous artificial intelligence from CoRover.ai, delivering a multilingual virtual assistant named BharatGPT.

Additionally, Iris Waves will handle marketing and after-sales service, with Chowdhry emphasising the reparability of Milkyway at the component level, a feature absent in imported products.

Responding to queries regarding the choice of a 4G tablet amid the advent of 5G technology, Chowdhry and UTL Chairman P Raja Mohan Rao highlighted the current availability constraints of 5G networks across the nation.

Rao affirmed UTL's commitment to manufacturing 2 lakh Milkyway tablets annually, underscoring the company's agreement to pay a royalty fee to EPIC for production rights.

The unveiling of the Milkyway tablets alongside the government's forthcoming incentive scheme signals a concerted effort to bolster India's position in the global electronics manufacturing landscape, fostering innovation, and self-reliance in the sector.

(KNN Bureau)