Delhi govt woos Apple, Dixon to electronic city

The Delhi government is in talks with top electronics companies, including Apple Inc. and Dixon Technologies, to build facilities at its proposed electronics city, a top official said. The Delhi government has already identified 81 acres at Baprola in northwest Delhi for the ambitious project.

The Aam Aadmi Party-led government may also provide tax relief or capital subsidies to encourage manufacturers, said Jasmine Shah, vice-chairperson of Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDCD), a government think tank. Apart from Apple and Dixon, the government is also talking with Lava, Micromax and VVDN Technologies, Shah said in an interview.

“We are talking to everyone. All major national as well as international players who have plans for setting up electronics facility, we are talking to them,”

Shah said.

She added that talks with global players, including the iphone maker, are at an initial stage.

Apple’s products are currently manufactured in India at the Foxconn plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai and the Pegatron plant in Karnataka.

Queries sent to spokespeople for Apple in India, Lava, Dixon and Micromax remained unanswered till press time.

The plan for an electronics manufacturing hub is a key component of the Delhi government’s plans to create two million jobs over the next five years. The government expects the electronics city to generate 80,000 job opportunities. The project also aims to make the national capital a research and development (R&D) and manufacturing hub for electronics.

“The idea is to provide plugand-play infrastructure facilities, but we will also combine it with an additional incentives on tax or capital subsidy. We are working on that,” he said.

Delhi is also looking at ways to forge a tie-up between an electronic design organization and a local university to lead the next generation of electronics design talent. It has already tied up with EPIC Foundation, a not-forprofit body, to tap into its expertise in electronics design.

The announcement about an electronic city was made in this year’s ₹75,800 crore state budget presented by Delhi finance minister Manish Sisodia. The budget also laid down plans for employment generation in sectors such as retail, food and beverage, logistics and supply chain, travel and tourism, entertainment, construction, real estate, and green energy.

THE GOVERNMENT, THAT MAY ALSO PROVIDE TAX RELIEF, IS TALKS WITH LAVA, MICROMAX AND VVDN AS WELL