Editor's Page
Amid these challenging times which is now getting back to normal with some restrictions still in place, there is a piece of good news for the electronics sector. The Government of India has approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for manufacturing Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) battery at an estimated outlay of Rs 18,100 crore. We welcome this initiative as it would promote newer and niche cell technologies in the country. We believe that the PLI scheme would give thrust to ‘Make in India’ initiative and will attract huge investments of Rs 45,000 crore plus in the coming years. With this push for ACC batteries, the sector would witness robust growth in the coming years.
ACC batteries are the new generation of advanced storage technologies which stores electric energy as electrochemical and convert it back to electric energy as and when required. The ACC covers major sectors, including consumer electronics, mobiles, electric vehicles, advanced electricity grids, solar rooftop etc. We need to work on securing the raw material supplies for these core technologies, especially lithium and cobalt. Our import burden of Rs 20,000 crore will also turn into a big opportunity and would make the country a major hub in producing clean energy.
In yet another significant development, the Indian market demand for ‘displays’ over the next five years is projected to be USD 60 billion between 2021 and 2025, amid a growing consumer market for display-centric products and thrust on electronics manufacturing. India currently consumes 7-8% of the global display production in India primarily for use in mobile, TV and IT hardware. With our current emphasis on electronic manufacturing in India and incentives to trigger this industrial sector, the demand for displays will increase multi-fold. There is no display fab in India today and this is the right time that we direct our focus towards building this strategic core industry in India.
A coherent national policy is required to mobilize private sector companies to bring together capital and knowhow to establish state-of-the-art display fabs. The national policy should extend government support towards providing financial incentives to display makers and display supply chain companies who agree to make substantial investments under the private-public partnerships. We also appeal to the Indian corporates to come forward and put their weight behind to establish “this strategic industry” in India.
Meanwhile, the Indian version of PUBG Mobile, which is named Battlegrounds Mobile India, is generating a lot of hype these days. It may be recalled that PUBG Mobile India was banned by Indian government in September 2020 due to security and privacy concerns. Millions of gamers across India are eagerly waiting for the multiplayer game to be launched by South Korean company Krafton Inc., but little did they know about the new privacy policy, which is perhaps one of the several changes the company had to incorporate to make Battlegrounds Mobile India available to the country’s audience.
Happy Reading and Stay Safe!