Chennai, Sep 10 (KNN) The state government has assured that it would encourage the Electronics System Design & Manufacturing sector and become the leader in the country in next 4-5 years.

The state's Minister for IT, Thiru R B Udhayakumar and Minister for Industries, Thiru M C Sampath said this while speaking at the 11th edition of Source India-Electronics Supply Chain on Wednesday, organised by Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA) with Tamil Nadu as the Host State.

It is co-organised by ELCOT and supported by Tamil Nadu Industrial Guidance and Export Promotion Bureau.

 They also spoke about the strong electronics and automotive industrial base in the state which is the 2nd largest manufacturing state in India and the vision to become the largest manufacturer of electronics and achieve overall industry sector growth of 14 per cent per annum.

Following the launch of the Tamil Nadu Electronics Hardware Policy on September 7th, 2020 by Chief Minister Thiru Edappadi K Palaniswami, the 11th edition of Source India-Electronics Supply Chain is being organised virtually on 9th and 10th September. The Policy was showcased and presented during the inaugural session by MD, Elcot Thiru M Vijayakumar.

''Since last 15 years, Tamil Nadu has been supporting this high technology sector and is proud that it hosts some of the top global companies such as Samsung, Foxconn, Salcomp, Dell Computers, Sanmina-SCI, Flextronics, NSN, and many automotive companies, among others, are operating from our State,'' the Ministers said.

Thiru Hans Raj Verma, IAS, Addl. Chief Secretary to Tamil Nadu government (Ministry of IT & Panchayati Raj) spoke about the importance of state's Hardware Policy and how the state was a preferred destination for the Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector.

''His department would be implementing the Policy through ELCOT and jointly with the Guidance Bureau,'' a statement from ELCINA claimed.

Ajay Prakash Sawhney, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & IT, Government of India graced the event and shared the vision of his Ministry and the all-round efforts being made by the central government to accelerate development of the electronics sector.

The National Policy on Electronics 2019 had been launched last year and had very attractive and highly supportive schemes such as PLI, SPECS and EMC 2.0 to enhance investment in value added manufacturing and electronics equipment. There was special focus on mobile manufacturing through the PLI Scheme which was expected to create a large electronics manufacturing eco-system in next 5 years and make India a leading global hub.

Sawhney said that India would manufacture mobiles and electronic components valued at USD150 Bn in the next 4½ years as a result of investment under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme.  Out of this about USD 100Bn would be exported.  While the focus on this scheme is on mobiles, MeitY is supporting manufacturing of all other electronics equipment which was equally critical and provided a huge opportunity.

Thiru M Vijayakumar, IAS, MD, ELCOT made a detailed presentation on the salient features of Tamil Nadu Electronics Hardware Policy released on September 7th Chief Minister.

''The Policy has been designed with inputs from industry and ELCINA Members to meet the aspirations of the domestic and global industry as it opens up several new opportunities,'' he added. It provides financial benefits and also gives impetus to training and employment generation, innovation, technology development, R&D, infrastructure and support services. Start Ups, MSME’s, Large and Mega Units, all have been given due attention and support by the Policy. The target of a USD 100 billion industry by 2030 in Tamil Nadu is salutary though challenging and the policy has necessary focus and provides resources to achieve the same.

The state plans to export 25 per cent of India’s total electronics exports by 2025, undertake skill training to produce more than 1 lac skilled and semi-skilled workers and increase value addition across focus sectors such as mobile handsets, LED products, PCBs, Solar PV Cells, Medical and Automotive Electronics.

The policy also addresses mega, large as well as MSME investments and clearly defines the process for the same. Large and Mega products would come under the purview of Industries Department and SIPCOT while their facilitation would be the responsibility of Guidance Bureau. For the MSME sector, the support shall be provided by the Commissioner of Industries and Commerce.  The financial benefits would be available under a number of heads including capital subsidy, subsidy on land lease, stamp duty exemption, training subsidy, Interest subsidy, exemption of electricity tax, among others.  There was also provision for eco-system support by providing excellent Infrastructure in EMCs, industrial housing facility, e-waste management and repairs, testing facility, R&D support etc.

In his welcome address Amrit Manwani, President ELCINA, stated that the domestic markets are growing rapidly and are expected to cross USD 400 billion by 2025. Combined with the emerging opportunities in export markets, Tamil Nadu’s ESDM sector is surely moving towards a bright future. He specifically highlighted the opportunity in electronic component manufacturing, ATMP of semiconductor modules, PCB Assemblies and inputs for emerging sectors such as electric vehicles, IoT, 5G, Industry 4.0 and smart cities.