Mobile production in Karnataka to hit Rs 30K crore: ICEA

BENGALURU: The New Industrial Policy (NIP) of Karnataka is expected to boost the market of mobile production to Rs 30,000 in terms of the industry’s value. It is expected to create almost 1.2 lakh jobs by 2023, says India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA).

Karnataka announced the NIP in August, 2020, which has incentivized mobile manufacturing. It eased the process for reimbursement of stamp duty and registration charges, reimbursement of land conversion fees, power tariff reimbursement and exemption from electrical duty. Big telecom firms like Apple, Winstron, Lava, are members of ICEA. It said that specific policies such as production incentive of 1 per cent of annual turnover during the policy period is a bold step by the state government and welcomed by all.

Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA, said that he is very confident about this initiative and said that such initiatives will help in the growth of Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM). Currently, Karnataka accounts for 1-1.5 per cent, or Rs 25,000 crore, of the total mobile production of the country. He added that this percentage is expected to increase to seven per cent or Rs 30,000 crore by 2023. The state has an estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of over 16 lakh crore, with almost 70 per cent of India’s chip designers based in the state.

Winstron is one of the electronics firms in the state which is planning to increase its headcount from 2,000 in May, 2020, to 20,000 by the end of the next financial year. Sudipto Gupta, Managing Director, Winstron India and Chairman, ICEA Labour and Human Resource Committee, said that NIP is a forward looking step which addresses a number of labour related issues such as working shifts for women employees, overtime hours, etc. He added that such initiatives put Karnataka at the forefront of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the country.