Hosur being positioned as a hub for electronics manufacturing

The industrial town of Hosur, located just outside Bengaluru, is likely to grab a substantial share of fresh investments that are expected to come into Tamil Nadu with the state positioning the town as hubs for electronics manufacturing and the burgeoning electric mobility sector.

Hosur could well be the biggest beneficiary of the state government’s concerted efforts to decongest Chennai and its neighbouring districts by taking industries of every kind to tier-II and tier-III cities. The industrial town is now being suggested for several electronics manufacturers’ who evince interest in making Tamil Nadu their home, after having projected it as a hub for manufacturing of electric scooters and their accessories.

Along with Hosur, Coimbatore is also being promoted as an electronics hub given the city, which is known as the Manchester of South India, has several engineering institutes which have their own incubation centres and are involved in creating a talent pool in the sector.

Home-grown Tata Electronics and Taiwan’s Delta Electronics are building massive manufacturing units in and around Hosur and the presence of the two companies, the government feels, will encourage other major players in the sector to choose the industrial town.

Tata is investing Rs 7,000 crore in building a massive electronic ecosystem that will manufacture platforms for smartphones, including those of Apple Inc, among other components in Hosur under the Union Government’s Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS).

“How much can Chennai handle? We now give options of Chennai, Hosur, and Coimbatore for electronics’ manufacturers. Since Hosur is already an industrial town, we feel it has immense potential to emerge as electronics’ hub as well apart from being the nerve centre for EV manufacturing,” a senior government official in the know of developments told DH.

The official explained that it is with the motive to transform Hosur into an electronics hub that the government has already allotted land to suppliers of Delta Electronics.

“The suppliers will set their shops in two years’ time in the land allotted to them. Tata and Delta are the beginning of Hosur’s transformation as a centre for electronics manufacturing. When companies scout for places to set up their units, skilled workforce and the ecosystem top their agenda. Both are available in Hosur and in neighbouring Krishnagiri,” the official added.

The strong and vibrant presence of MSMEs in Hosur and the town’s proximity to Bengaluru, which has excellent air connectivity to various parts of the globe, also make it attractive for investors, another official said. “MSMEs who constitute the ecosystem for any sector is strong in Hosur. Entrepreneurs in TN learn things fast and execute them quickly. Very soon, Hosur will be a hub for more than one sector,” the official said.

K Velmurugan, President of Hosur Small and Tiny Industries Association (HOSTIA) said industrialization in Hosur has taken place gradually and the town has “all kinds of ecosystem” with a strong supplier base owing to the presence of 3,000 MSMEs.

“We have huge land parcels in Hosur, Krishnagiri, and Dharmapuri which makes this region one of the most attractive. The mobility of goods and people here is very fast which is liked by investors besides the excellent skilled workforce. The climate also plays a factor apart from the town’s close proximity to Bengaluru,” Velmurugan told DH.

He also demanded that the Tamil Nadu government should come out with a Master Plan for the development of Hosur and make it ready to house more industries and cater to the growing population.

Tamil Nadu, which is the second-largest manufacturing hub in the country accounting for 20 per cent of total electronics production in India, is pulling all stops to garner investments in the sector. The Tamil Nadu government has an exclusive Electronics Hardware Manufacturing Policy that offers a wide range of subsidies for companies investing in the state.

The government’s recent move to study the feasibility of setting up an airport in Hosur should also be viewed from the larger plan of promoting the town as an electronic and electric mobility hub. People of Hosur have also been demanding that Bengaluru Metro be extended to the Tamil Nadu border for free movement between the two cities.

In the EV sector, cab aggregator Ola, Ather, Sri Varu Motors, and Simple Energy are setting up their factories in and around Hosur, while TVS Motor Company has pledged Rs 1,200 crore for EV manufacturing unit in the industrial town.

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