All Bengal Electronics and Accessories Manufacturer’s Association (ELMA) was formed in 1997 by the local manufacturers to encourage the growth of the electronics industry in West Bengal. The aim was to assist and promote new entrepreneurs, as well as to safeguard the interests of local manufacturing units. Its president, Champak Kundu, feels that the West Bengal government needs to launch new packages and schemes to boost the manufacturing sector within the state. In an interview with Nitasha Chawla of Electronics Bazaar, he talks about the problems faced by the industry in West Bengal and some of the possible solutions.
EB: How is the electronics industry doing in West Bengal?
The electronics industry, which was a sunshine industry in the late 80s and mid-90s in Kolkata, started facing difficulties from 2005 onwards due to the lack of encouragement given to major industries and, subsequently, large investments that could have boosted the industry never came to our state.
So today, the scenario in the electronics industry is not bright but we are hopeful that it can change if industries along with ancillary units are set up.
EB: Compared to other regions, what are the strong and weak points of Kolkata?
Generally, the electronics industry requires many components like PCBs, etc, which are not readily available in this region and have to be purchased from other states, thereby pushing up the cost of production. As far as the city’s strong points are concerned, it has a huge market potential, since Kolkata is the gateway to the north eastern and other eastern states.
EB: What are the major electronics products that are manufactured in this region? And what are the major facilities available in the region?
Most of the eastern and north eastern states were power deficient for a long time, and because of this, the large scale manufacture of electronic goods like inverters and stabilisers started here. Also, the power electronics segment got a boost in Kolkata because the Government of India’s policy mandated the use of solar energy based products in multi-storeyed buildings.
The facilities available to the industry here include the availability of both a low cost skilled work force and interaction with highly skilled IT professionals for the development of software for electronic products.
EB: What are the advantages West Bengal offers to the electronics manufacturers vis a vis other regions?
As such, no major advantage is offered by the government of West Bengal to the electronics industry except that 80 per cent of the VAT amount on manufactured items is refunded to them.
EB: What are the challenges faced by manufacturers and traders in the electronics industry in the state? What could some of the solutions to these challenges be?
Since 2006 onwards, the manufacturers in India, and specially those in this region, are facing threats from low cost imported Chinese electronic products that have flooded the market. This has caused many electronic manufacturing units to shift their attention to trading activities.
A possible solution to this could be to introduce special packages or schemes to boost small scale industries in this region as most of the units here come under this sector. Recently, 1 per cent of entry tax has been levied by the West Bengal government, which has resulted in an escalation in the prices of various components. I sincerely hope that the Government of India comes out with a policy that curbs the import of electronic items. Also, some tax exemption should be allowed to the manufacturing units in the state.
EB: How does ELMA plan to support its members?
Since most of the manufacturing units have been closed down in the state due to various reasons, ELMA’s endeavour is to bring its members under one roof, and try to extend its support by identifying new business areas and by raising issues at various government forums for the survival of the electronics industry in West Bengal.
