Wednesday, July 09, 2014: Putting forth its expectations from the upcoming budget, the India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) has urged the government to provide the much desired push to the domestic manufacturing opportunities and clamp the imports of electronics goods in India. The association has asked the government to work on a compost of measures, that will help the in boosting the local electronics manufacturing and reduce the dependence of imports.
The organisation has also demanded a ‘priority status’ for the electronics system design & manufacturing (ESDM) sector. IESA has also urged the government to make a fast track clearance system of ‘electronic development fund’ and unveil sops to drive R&D activity. According to a media statement, ESA president M.N. Vidyashankar, said, “We hope the government will build more greenfield and brownfield electronics manufacturing clusters and incubation centers to create the ecosystem and promote entrepreneurship and innovation.” The association has also alarmed that 65 per cent of the electronics needs of the country are met through imports.
“This represents a cumulative opportunity loss of $200 billion between 2011 and 2015,” says a joint study by IESA and global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
“We urge the government to implement GST (goods & services tax) immediately and rationalise indirect tax structure of 12 per cent (8 per cent Excise + 4 per cent VAT) on the electronics manufacturing value chain,” IESA said.
