Kolkata: India's electronics import bill may exceed that of oil unless domestic electronic manufacturing units gear up, said Ajai Chowdhary, the head of a national IT task force set up by the ministry of IT and communications.
According to him, the demand-supply gap on the electronics front is likely to widen in next 10 years and will result in outflow of foreign exchange. "We have not taken advantage of the domestic electronics market yet," he said. He was present at the INFOCOM 09-10, a three-day seminar on IT and ITeS industries.
The recent report released by the ministry pegged the current demand in the Indian electronics industry at around $45 billion annually, which is likely to go up to $125 billion by 2014, and to $400 billion by 2020. Export during the period is expected to increase from $4 billion at present to $15 billion by 2014 and to $80 billion by 2020.
Advocating the establishment of a National Electronics Mission, Chowdhry said, "The task force has already made a presentation to the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council and will make similar ones to different ministries, including finance, besides the Prime Minister’s Office and Planning Commission about the need to set up the Electronics Mission and clusters of excellence. We expect the department of information technology to move on this in the next 3-4 months."
According to the report, the domestic IT and ITeS market is around $12.4 billion and is expected to grow to $23 billion by 2014 and to $50 billion by 2020. It also pointed that exports are likely to touch $82 billion by 2014 and $175 billion by 2020, from the present level of $43.6 billion.
Source : Financial Express