Government Working On Rs 36,000 Crore Fund To Propel India Into A Smartphone Manufacturing And Exporting Hub

The Central government is said to be mulling on Rs 36,000 crore fund in the upcoming budget to provide production-linked incentives (PLI) to boost high-end electronic manufacturing in India and turning the nation into a smartphone manufacturing and export hub, reports Economic Times.

The incentives from the fund would be linked to production targets and achievements and will be aimed at making it alluring for industry giants like Apple and Samsung to move their facilities and production from China and Vietnam to India, giving a big fillip to government's flagship 'Make in India' initiative.

Besides, there will be some other incentives designed to help local smartphone makers like Lava to become global dominant players in the entry segment.

The work on the fund and the criteria to benefit from its incentives is being carried out by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) which is headed by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

It should also be noted that the development comes merely days after Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi had held a meeting with smartphone manufacturers which included representatives from Samsung, Apple and Indian mobile maker Lava among others.

The creation of the fund is likely to aid the government’s ambitious target to push smartphone exports to $110 billion by 2025, dramatically up from present $3 billion.