Investments/ Developments

India emerged as the second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world, with a production value of mobile devices reaching US$ 49.16 billion in 2024.

Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi participated in the event named India's Techade: Chips for Viksit Bharat and laid the foundation stone for three semiconductor projects valued at Rs. 1.25 lakh crore (US$ 14.97 billion) on 13th March 2024.

Major Government initiatives such as ‘Digital India’, ‘Make in India’ and supportive policies including a favorable FDI Policy for electronics manufacturing have simplified the process of setting up manufacturing units in India.

Post-COVID, the Government of India aims to increase India’s contribution by around US$ 400 billion worth of electronics goods including exports worth US$ 120 billion, which would account for 9-10% of the overall global value chains, from the current supply potential of 1-2%.

Union Budget 2023-24 has allocated Rs. 16,549 crore (US$ 2 billion) for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which is nearly 40% higher on year. The budget for FY23 had allocated Rs. 14,300 crore (US$ 1.73 billion) for the IT ministry.

The Indian startup ecosystem is experiencing a surge over the years, due to rapid technological advancements, increasing internet penetration, growing digital infrastructure, rising startup culture, government initiatives like Digital India, Make in India, and Startup India, as well as a large pool of skilled workforce.

India has witnessed an exceptional surge in the creation and funding of startups as the country has solidified its position as a major global centre for innovation and businesses. However, securing adequate funding remains a significant task for startups, often leading to survival challenges.

In 2023, the funding scenario for tech startups turned bleak amid the global uncertainty, witnessing a 67% YoY plunge in total funding to US$ 6.0 billion. This decline came after the peak funding levels observed in 2021 (US$ 24.1 billion) and 2022 (US$ 18.2 billion), where investors displayed confidence in Indian tech startups. In 2023, the number of deals declined to 824. However, the decline appears to be cyclical than a long-term trend.

STPI Signs MoUs to strengthen tech startup ecosystem: AIC STPINEXT Initiatives (STPINEXT), a special purpose vehicle of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an organisation under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs), one with HDFC Bank, and another with Excelpoint Systems India Pvt. Ltd., a niche technology player for fostering entrepreneurship and nurturing tech startups in the country. These partners would play a critical role in supporting and handholding the startups in the growth journey through technical guidance & assistance, mentoring, pitching to investors, funding support, and market connect & access etc.

Some of the investments/ developments in the Electronics System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) sector in the recent past are as follows:

• As of November 2023, applications of 27 IT hardware mobile phones manufacturers have been approved for Production Linked Incentive scheme (PLI).
• In March 2024, the Cabinet approved a massive Rs. 1.26 trillion (US$ 15.2 billion) investment in three semiconductor plants, signifying India's technological progress.
• India and Taiwan plan a US$ 7.5 billion chip plant deal, potentially boosting India’s semiconductor manufacturing with anticipated tariff reductions on components.
• Production-linked scheme (PLI) for large-scale electronics manufacturing (including mobiles) has seen investments worth Rs. 6,887 crore (US$ 833 million) (till June 2023), already surpassing the target for FY24 which was Rs. 5,488 crore (US$ 664.4 million).
• In July 2023, electronics maker Elista announced that it would invest Rs. 100 crore (US$ 12.1 million) in Andhra Pradesh to set up a manufacturing unit for Smart LED TVs, smartwatches, audio speakers, and large appliances.
• US CHIP design major Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) will invest up to US$ 400 million in India over the next five years and will set up its biggest design facility in the country.
• The Index of Industrial Production of manufacturing of computer, electronic, and optical products (weight: 1.57%) was valued at 137, during FY23.
• India's electronics sector is set to harness US$ 7 billion untapped revenue by 2035 via circular business model and policy pathways, industry stakeholders said. Current commitments and targets set the projected market size for these circular models at US$ 13 billion in 2035.
• India has overtaken China as the second-largest manufacturer of mobile devices in the world, according to a report released by the international research firm Counterpoint in August. The ‘Make in India’ initiative's mobile phone shipments from India exceeded 2 billion cumulative units and an annual growth rate of 23% was recorded.
• According to a report 'India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker' by International Data Corporation (IDC), "hundreds" of" smartwatch model launches in the first half of the calendar year 2023 contributed to India's wearable market's growth of 53.3% year-over-year (YoY). The companies shipped 57.8 million units of wearables like smartwatches, earwear, and eyeglasses to the market in the first half of CY23.
• The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) announced the exchange of signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and Lam Research India at the SemiconIndia in Gandhinagar.
• In November 2023, Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Communications & IT said that 99% of mobiles used in India are made in India.
• Industrial robot accessories company Robot System Products (RSP) has announced plans to set up a subsidiary in India. The Indian entity Scandinavian Robot Systems India Private Limited has been registered in Chennai and will supply a range of industrial robot accessories to Indian customers.
• India Semiconductor Mission organized a three-day SemiconIndia 2023 Conference in July 2023 with the theme ‘Catalysing India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem’ in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. SemiconIndia 2023 witnessed the participation of industry leaders from major global companies such as Micron Technology, Applied Materials, Foxconn, Cadence and AMD, and the industry association, SEMI.
• India and Japan on July 20, 2023, signed an agreement for semiconductor design, manufacturing, equipment research, and talent development and to bring resilience to the semiconductor supply chain.
• The cumulative FDI equity inflow in the Electronics industry is US$ 4.57 billion during the period April 2000-December 2023.
• In FY23, the exports of electronic goods were recorded at US$ 23.57 billion as compared to US$ 15.66 billion during FY22, registering a growth of 50.52%.
• Exports of electronic goods stood at US$ 2.0 billion in September 2022.
• During April 2022-February 2023, the imports of electronics goods stood at US$ 70.07 billion, whereas exports stood at US$ 20.69 billion.
• A nine-member task force was constituted by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in March 2023 with the primary goal of making India a ‘product developer and manufacturing nation’, as per a report. The members of the task force are some of the veterans from the Indian electronic industry, including HCL Founder Mr. Ajay Chowdhary, Lava International Chairman Mr. Hari Om Rai, and Boat Lifestyle Co-Founder Mr. Aman Gupta, among others.
• In March 2023, the Government approved the setting up of the Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) at Hubli-Dharwad in Karnataka, worth US$ 22 million (Rs. 180 crore) and is expected to create about 18,000 jobs.
• As global companies are leveraging the well-developed manufacturing system in the State, Tamil Nadu has emerged as one of the major electronics hardware manufacturing and exporting States in the country. The state is well positioned to achieve a US$ 100 billion ESDM industry in the next five years.
• The India Cellular and Electronics Association in February 2023 signed a memorandum of understanding with the Uttar Pradesh government to facilitate investments as the electronics manufacturing and skill hub to cater to domestic demand and exports. The government has set a target to achieve US$ 300 billion of electronics manufacturing by 2025-26, out of which US$ 75-100 billion of electronics manufacturing is expected from UP.
• Mitsubishi Electric India would invest Rs. 1,891 crore (US$ 230.9 million) to build an air conditioner and compressor factory in Tamil Nadu. This facility will generate over 2,000 jobs, 60% of which will be held by women.
• Vedanta Group signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with 20 Korean companies from the display glass industry for the development of an electronics manufacturing hub in India. The MoUs were signed at the 'Korea Biz-Trade Show 2023' event organised by KOTRA, in collaboration with Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy.
• In November 2022, Voltas entered into a technology license agreement with Denmark’s Vestfrost Solutions to develop, manufacture, sell and service medical refrigeration and vaccine storage equipment including ice-lined refrigerators, vaccine freezers and ultra-low temperature freezers to the Indian market.
• Voltas announced plans of Rs. 400 crore (US$ 50.10 million) capex under the PLI scheme to manufacture components for white goods in May 2022.
• In March 2022, Reliance announced that it would invest US$ 220 million in a joint venture with Sanmina Corp, a US-listed company for making electronic products in Asian countries.
• According to sources, Apple Inc. 2021 manufactures 70% of mobile phones sold in India, a sharp increase from 30% recorded two years ago. This is a significant push towards the “Make in India” initiative, following the government's Production-linked Incentive (PLI) plan, which began in FY21.
• In September 2021, tech giant Lenovo announced plans to ramp up manufacturing capabilities in India across various product categories, such as PCs, notebooks and smartphones, due to rising consumer demand. However, details of the investment were not disclosed.
• In September 2021, PG Electroplast, a contract manufacturer of electronic goods, announced that it had applied for a PLI scheme and pledged to invest Rs. 300 crore (US$ 40.47 million) towards the production of air conditioner components.
• Intel has invested over US$ 7 billion in design and R&D facilities in the country to date.
• As of March 03, 2021, 19 companies have filed for the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for IT Hardware. The scheme was open for applications until April 30, 2021; its incentives will be available from April 01, 2021. Over the next four years, the scheme is expected to lead to total production of ~Rs. 160,000 crore (US$ 21.88 billion). Of the total production, IT hardware companies have proposed production of >Rs. 135,000 crore (US$ 18.46 billion); and domestic companies have proposed production of >Rs. 25,000 crore (US$ 3.42 billion).
• The government has set a target to get ~Rs. 18,000 crore (US$ 2.4 billion) investments in the electronics manufacturing segment by 2021-22.
• On February 16, 2021, Amazon announced that it will commence manufacturing electronics products from India with Cloud Network Technology, a subsidiary of Foxconn in Chennai, later in the year. The device manufacturing programme will be able to produce ‘Fire TV Stick’ devices in large quantities every year, catering to the demands of customers in India.