New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday that the 106 projects that have now been approved under the country’s Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) are expected to generate direct employment for 75,000 persons.
Once these units start production, the total job potential across the electronics ecosystem would go up to 2.5 lakh persons, Vaishnaw said.
The minister handed over the approvals for 31 applications under the ECMS scheme on Monday, which are expected to lead to an additional investment of Rs 7,877 crore and the creation of 9,500 fresh jobs. The applications are related to the manufacturing of products including Acetylene Black, speakers and microphones, optical transceivers, capacitors, and coils.
He urged the industry to achieve full design capabilities in India and build a domestic supply chain for components and sub-components.
“When we brought in the ECMS scheme, there was a clear thought process that we were planning 60 companies initially to be approved. Now we have 106 companies already approved under the project,” he said.
Vaishnaw said the scheme has succeeded in attracting investment proposals to the tune of Rs 69,000 crore, which has surpassed the government’s initial target of getting an investment of Rs 59,000 crore.
He said the next phase of the programme has to focus on what lies deeper in the manufacturing chain. Companies, he said, should examine their bill of materials, identify components that are still imported and work with Indian industry to bring their production into the country.
Vaishnaw also called for industry-specific workshops to identify how much of the supply chain can be localised. Alongside this, he listed Six Sigma quality and talent development as key priorities, saying the industry must build capabilities across design, supply chains, quality and talent.
The minister also stressed the need to ensure that projects move quickly from approvals to actual manufacturing. He said 38 projects have already started manufacturing, while another 16 are under construction.
MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan said the ECMS is currently one of the ministry’s fastest-moving programmes, with approval meetings being held almost every week to match industry response.
“Both in terms of investment and output, we have exceeded the original target,” he added.
–IANS
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