Centre approves seven projects worth Rs 5,532 crore under the electronics components manufacturing scheme

New Delhi: The Centre has approved seven projects worth Rs 5,532 crore, out of 249 proposals received under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme.

Announcing this, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday that a total seven plants under electronics components have been approved. In the coming days, many more projects will be approved.

These projects will lead to production of components worth Rs 36,559 crore and creation of over 5,100 direct jobs. The approved units spread across Tamil Nadu ( five plants), Andhra Pradesh (one) and Madhya Pradesh (one plant). Besides, the government expects these projects to reduce the import bill by around Rs 20,000 crore, the Minister said.

The minister said that proposals for the manufacturing of multi-layer printed circuit boards or motherboard base, camera modules, copper laminates, and polypropylene films (used in capacitors for consumer electronics) have been approved.

The approvals have been granted for four projects from the Kaynes Group, and one project each from Syrma Group, Ascent Circuits of Amber Group, and SRF Limited.

Kaynes' four projects at an investment of Rs 3,280 crore comprise the production of multi-layer PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) worth Rs 4,300 crore, camera module sub-assembly worth Rs 12,630 crore and HDI (High-Density Interconnect) PCBs worth Rs 6,875 crore.

The Ascent Circuits project, entailing Rs 991 crore investment, is likely to produce multi-layer PCB worth Rs 7,847 crore, Syrma Strategic Electronics' Rs 765 crore investment would make multi-layer PCB worth Rs 6,933 crore, and SRF Limited investment proposal of Rs 496 crore is estimated to produce polypropylene film worth Rs 1,311 crore.

This is the first time camera modules will be made in India without the support of a foreign technology partner. These modules can be used in smartphones, tablets, laptops, CCTV, etc.

Vaishnaw said the PCB projects approved in the initial phase will meet 27 per cent of the total domestic demand and 15 percent of the camera modules requirement.

He said that first copper laminates and polypropylene films used in capacitors will be made in India, and they will meet 100 per cent of the domestic demand.

The Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) has received investment proposals worth Rs 1.15 lakh crore. The first phase of the scheme closed on September 30, while the window for capital equipment continues to remain open.