ICEA seeks meeting with FM to discuss strategy for 2030 vision on electronics manufacturing

Industry body India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) on Tuesday said it would seek a meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and other top government functionaries to arrive at a strategy for the industry to deliver on the $500 billion vision outlined for electronics manufacturing by 2030. ICEA is keen on such a meeting with the government "soon", possibly this month.

The association said the industry is currently at a $115 billion-level and that growth rates in the coming years have to be in the range of over 20 per cent CAGR to achieve the vision of $500 billion for electronics manufacturing by 2030.

"It is like... you are on a treadmill, so you'd have to move faster," Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) told reporters.

Among key aspects, the industry is hoping to discuss in-depth the approach to enhancing India's capabilities in electronics manufacturing and boosting New Delhi's participation in Global Value Chains (GVCs). GVCs are key to modern manufacturing, involving global collaboration across activities such as design, production, marketing, and distribution.

"We are keen to have a presentation with the Finance Minister and PMO on the elements that are essential for the industry to achieve the outlined vision of $500 billion by 2030," Mohindroo said. The success of the GVC model is absolutely critical, Mohindroo said, adding that the industry is hoping to brainstorm on how to fundamentally increase GVC participation.

ICEA hopes to discuss tariff rationalisation, ease of business, and enabling reforms. It is pertinent to mention here that addressing the inaugural session of the 'Semicon India 2024' event last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a clarion call to the industry to grow the country's electronics sector to $500 billion and create 6 million jobs by the end of this decade.