At a Digital India Dialogues meeting in Bengaluru, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated that the government is collaborating closely with startups, industry, and academia to develop a swiftly expanding server and IT hardware manufacturing ecosystem in India.
"Our goals for 2026 are crystal clear: a $300 billion electronics industry and a $1 trillion digital economy. "The government will facilitate the growth of India's IT hardware ecosystem, which includes data centres, servers, and so on," he said.
"This PLI scheme for IT hardware has been devised with input from the industry this time around. We have digitalized our economy, government, and public services at an unprecedented rate, making India one of the fastest-growing consumer markets in the electronic manufacturing ecosystem, he explained.
The discussions centred on encouraging enterprises and entrepreneurs to expand their presence in the country while fostering ecosystem development.
"While we welcome large foreign companies to establish their headquarters in India, we are also providing incentives to the industry and expanding the EMS ecosystem in India," the minister said.
The government approved the PLI 2.0 scheme for IT infrastructure with a budget of Rs 17,000 crores in May, doubling the budget of the PLI 2021 scheme. The objective of the programme is to encourage domestic manufacturing, attract investments, and promote the localization of IT hardware components and subassemblies.
It includes notebooks, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, servers, and ultra-small form factor devices. In doing so, the government hopes to stimulate India's domestic IT hardware manufacturing ecosystem, thereby fostering the development of Indian champions in the IT hardware industry.
When asked if the government is attempting to become a part of the avionics supply chain (advanced avionics), the minister stated that he expects Honeywell and Garmin to begin developing such advanced electronics in the country.
"I am optimistic that Honeywell and Garmin will produce avionics in India. They have all established their back office capability centres here, and they should also begin conducting R&D. The subsequent iteration of avionics should originate in India... And we have the capacity to do so. I believe that many of these innovations will emerge from startups," he said.
The PLI 2.0 programme is scheduled to operate for six years and is anticipated to generate a significant production increase worth Rs 3.35 lakh crore with an expected investment of Rs 2,430 crore. Additionally, it will likely generate approximately 75,000 new direct employment opportunities.
The electronics manufacturing industry in India has maintained a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17 percent since 2014. Beginning at approximately $16 billion, production has now surpassed the significant $105 billion mark.
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