Five companies from Apple’s vendor ecosystem are among 22 electronics manufacturing proposals approved by the government under its component manufacturing scheme, with investments expected to reach ₹41,863 crore, an official aware of the matter said on Friday.
Electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, on the sidelines of detailing the third tranche of approvals, also signalled a push towards electronics and mechanical design capabilities in India, asking the industry to submit a plan within six weeks. The government can bear capital investments while industry covers operating costs, he offered.
The approvals under the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) include Foxconn-linked Yuzhan Technology, Tata Electronics, Motherson Electronic Components, ATL Battery Technology India, and Hindalco Industries — all part of Apple’s ecosystem — some of which will play a crucial role in exports to the tech giant’s international locations, news agency PTI quoted people aware of the matter as saying.
The third tranche of clearances takes the total number of approved projects under the scheme to 46, with cumulative investments of ₹54,567 crore, projected production of ₹3,67,669 crore, and over 50,000 direct jobs.
The latest 22 projects are projected to generate production worth ₹2.58 lakh crore and create nearly 34,000 direct jobs, signalling India’s push to reduce import dependence for critical electronic components and position itself as a reliable manufacturing partner as global companies diversify supply chains away from China-dominated electronics production.
{{/usCountry}}The latest 22 projects are projected to generate production worth ₹2.58 lakh crore and create nearly 34,000 direct jobs, signalling India’s push to reduce import dependence for critical electronic components and position itself as a reliable manufacturing partner as global companies diversify supply chains away from China-dominated electronics production.
{{/usCountry}}Key approvals include Foxconn-linked Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Limited for mobile phone enclosures in Tamil Nadu, expected to generate over 16,000 direct jobs; Samsung for display module sub-assembly operations in Uttar Pradesh; and Tata Electronics for mobile phone enclosures in Tamil Nadu with around 1,500 jobs.
Investment breakdown
In terms of investment distribution, mobile phone enclosures accounted for the largest share with three projects worth ₹27,166 crore, followed by printed circuit boards where nine projects involving ₹7,377 crore have been approved. Lithium-ion cells saw one approval with an investment of ₹2,922 crore, while anode material for batteries received one approval worth ₹1,835 crore, marking India’s first such facility under the scheme.
Other approved segments include capacitors, camera module sub-assembly, display module sub-assembly, aluminium extrusion, laminates (copper clad), connectors, and optical transceivers. The projects are spread across Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the scheme would help India meet “45% of its domestic requirement for multilayer and HDI PCBs, 100% for laminates and export, 55% for lithium ion, 100% demand plus exports for enclosure, 25% for connectors, 25% camera module, and 100% plus export for optical transceivers”.
Other approvals in the third tranche include TDK India Private Limited, BPL Limited, and Amphenol High Speed Technology India Pvt Ltd, which will manufacture capacitors, PCBs, and connectors respectively across multiple states.
Design capabilities push
During interaction with industry, Vaishnaw asked whether companies were willing to undertake mechanical design work in India. An industry participant responded that setting up such capabilities would require large investments of around ₹50-100 crore and could not be done at a small scale. In response, Vaishnaw said the government was ready to support such efforts.
The proposed framework should cover electronics and mechanical design, including details on resources, software, training and equipment.
On quality standards, an industry representative said that meeting Six Sigma quality levels — a widely used manufacturing standard focused on reducing defects and improving consistency in high-precision electronics — would require “Six Sigma skills” to compete globally.
Responding to a question by HT, Vaishnaw said: “Sigma skills are significantly challenging skills which industry has to acquire. And the industry has to work 80%, while the government support is required only about 30%.” He added that the government can only be the enabler, but the industry has to do the heavy lifting.
Minister of state for MeitY Jitin Prasada said the government was “walking the talk” under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and minister Vaishnaw, adding that as global companies look to reduce dependence on a single country, India is emerging as a reliable partner in a geopolitically uncertain world.
MeitY secretary S Krishnan said: “The first anode material plant for lithium ion cells is going to be established, which is a very significant movement in the overall ecosystem of lithium ion cells and batteries.” He added that India would also get a second laminate project under the scheme, noting: “One of the key areas that we wanted was laminate because they represent the highest value addition in case of PCBs.”
Vaishnaw said electronics manufacturing has generated around 2.5 million jobs so far, with mobile manufacturing accounting for about 1.4 million to 1.5 million. He added that the IT industry employs around 6.5 million people, while global capability centres account for another 1.5 million jobs, taking total employment in electronics and IT to over 10 million.