South Korean giant Samsung, Apples Contract manufacturing partners Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron, and Indian smartphone vendors Micromax and Lava, among others, have applied for the $ 6.6 billion Indian incentive program to boost local smartphone manufacturing, New Delhi said on Saturday.
The program, known as a production-based incentive system, offers companies a range of incentives, including a 6% financial incentive for the additional sale of locally produced goods over a five-year period, with Indian IT Minister Ravi Shankar 2019-2020 Prasad said as the base year in a press conference.
22 companies applied for the incentive program – which includes the manufacture of electronic components – and agreed to export 60% of their locally manufactured units outside of India, said Prasad. He said the companies estimate that they will produce smartphones and components worth $ 153 billion over the five-year term.
The production-linked incentive system is intended to make India a global center for the production of high-quality smartphones and to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to make the country independent, Prasad said.
As part of their applications, the companies have also agreed to offer around 1.2 million Indians direct and indirect employment, the Indian minister said.
The interest of Samsung and Apple, two companies that make up more than 50% of global smartphone sales, in India is evidence of the opportunities they see in the second largest Internet market in the world, Prasad said. “Apple and Samsung, India, greet you with attractive policies. Now expand your presence in the country, ”he said.
Chinese smartphone manufacturers are missing from the list of companies that the Indian minister revealed today Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus and Realme, who did not apply for the incentive program.
The Indian government has not prevented companies from any country from participating in the program. Prasad insisted on calling reporters on Saturday afternoon. According to the research company Canalys, Chinese smartphone providers dominate around 80% of the Indian market for mobile phones.
“We are optimistic and look forward to building a strong ecosystem along the value chain and integrating it into global value chains to strengthen the electronics manufacturing ecosystem in the country,” he said. The application period for the Indian program, which started in April, ended on Friday of this week.
The participation of Wistron, Foxconn and Pegatron is also an indication of Apple’s future plans to produce locally in India. Apple’s contract manufacturing partner Wistron from Taiwan started assembling older iPhone models in 2017. Last month, Foxconn started assembling a small batch of iPhone 11 units. It was the first time that an Apple vendor put together a current-generation iPhone model in the country.