‘Mobile brands should create an ecosystem of connected devices’
Co-founder, Micromax Informatics
On India Market Penetration:
We are the No. 1 brand in the sub Rs 7,500 category in India with 25% market share in the segment. We are growing robustly in volume at over 30% against the second quarter, led by smartphones, accounting for almost 60% of our portfolio.
We are gaining significantly versus the industry average, hence we’re seeing a growth in market share as well. Market analyst firm IDC also reported an increase in market share across categories for us, consistently since January 2015. This recent quarter we would break into over 20% market share in smartphones.
On Investments:
The atmosphere in the country is very positive, and the government is keen to drive the ‘Make in India’ project to an unprecedented success. We have invested in Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana so far, to set up manufacturing facilities. We have been leading the way in terms of investments and will continue to do so.
On Government Role:
The government has already reformed some of its policies to drive ‘Make in India’. Some demands of our sector have already been addressed like setting up of electronic clusters, creation of innovation fund and policy, tax holidays, setting up of chip fabrication and assembling units, etc., however, India is still far away from achieving a target of zero balance in electronics import. There needs to be land subsidies provided by all the states for local manufacturing to flourish. India still lags behind when it comes to good infrastructure and logistics facilities as well as on the ease of doing business compared to other emerging nations. The good news is that there is awareness on these in the right places and we remain optimistic and confident on the future of this initiative.
On Major Import Destinations & Manufacturing:
We mainly import major components from China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. We have partnered with Qualcomm, MediaTek and Spreadtrum for processors and Corning for specialized toughened glass and many other components makers. Last year, we announced that wewill start assembling phones in our Rudrapur plant. True to our plans, we have already started assembling phones and have a capacity of two million phones per month in our Rudrapur plant.
Being the first Indian company to start local manufacturing, Micromax’s Rudrapur facility employs over 4,500 people, and a large number of our smartphones are coming out of that facility. Local manufacturing is pivotal for Micromax’s growth in India aiming to help improve the design and propel research and development of products to suit the domestic requirements and demands of the Indian market. With the ‘Make in India’ campaign more and more large component manufacturers will be interested to shift base in India and the company will be happy to become the anchor customers for them.
On Manufacturing Components:
India has a great potential when it comes to infrastructure for making smartphones. Moreover, India is a large market. If the world has to choose an alternative and have a de-risking strategy, India will be the most potent destination.
India can surely take further lead in the manufacturing sector, given that the government would undertake next-generation tax reforms for businesses planning to make in India; it would also start a line itemby-line item cost and policy comparison, including IPRs, with China and other competing countries. In addition to this, some specific and targeted progressive policies with support for exports can help growth in the manufacturing sector touch double digits while alleviating some supply-side bottlenecks.
The Prime Minister Modi’s vision to ensure a smartphone in the hands of every citizen by 2019, is a dream that can progress towards reality if mobile brands partner together to create an ecosystem of connected devices.