The electronics market is expected to cross Rs 20 lakh crore by 2020, The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India said today.
Further, Assocham said that volume-wise, the electronics market is expected to reach Rs 5 lakh crore by the end of 2012 and called for a vibrant ecosystem to develop laboratory-to-fabrication clusters across the country.
This market was estimated at Rs 3.25 lakh crore in 2010.
If local production continues to grow at a similar pace, it is expected to fall short of Rs 15 lakh crore during the same period.
Domestic manufacturing
A strong push to domestic manufacturing is thus essential to bridge the demand-supply gap and generate mass employment, said Assocham.
“A national strategy should be formulated through discussions with key stakeholders including existing manufacturers and members of the MSME sector, industry associations, respective government departments and regulatory bodies,” said the Secretary General, Mr D.S. Rawat.
Industrial clusters
In recent years, high-volume sourcing of components and final products through imports has hampered the growth of electronics manufacturing base.
Excessive dependence on imports can also involve national security issues in future, he said, adding that there is need to create industrial clusters for fostering innovation and manufacturing domestically.
“There is a growing consensus that electronics industry needs a special emphasis. It will encourage value generation, revenue generation and employment generation,” said Mr Rawat, adding that practical and implement-able solutions should be worked out while establishing centres of excellence for incentivising collaborative research and development initiatives between MSMEs and MNCs.
Feeder industries
Absence of feeder industries is the biggest hurdle for electronics manufacturers to set operations.
“The government needs to take quick steps to start developing an ecosystem which will attract manufacturing investments,” he said.
According to a recent knowledge paper prepared by Assocham and Frost & Sullivan, the 2020 guidance is expected to catapult India’s contribution to the $1.8-trillion global electronics industry to 15 per cent from the current low contribution of 2.5 per cent.
The global electronics industry reported at $1.75 trillion is the largest and fastest growing manufacturing sector. It is expected to reach $2.4 trillion by 2020.