VOL XXIV, ISSUE 15

15 August 2023

Industry Scan

         POLICY SCAN                                                                                    

MSME growth, new industrial policy bring new investors to J&K

The single window clearance system and healthy incentives are bringing new investors to Jammu and Kashmir and have encouraged the administration to participate in the 9th India International MSME Expo and Summit 2023 in New Delhi. During his address in the Expo and Summit, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday said that women in Jammu and Kashmir are bringing a silent revolution by becoming entrepreneurs. He said that 74,000 SMEs are being run by women in Jammu and Kashmir and it is encouraging other women to become entrepreneurs.

Source: https://sundayguardianlive.com/, August 13, 2023

ELCINA Welcomes India's New Licensing Requirement for Imports of Laptops, Tablets, and Personal Computers to Boost Domestic Electronics Manufacturing

The Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA) welcomes the recent decision vide Notification No. 23/2023 dated 3rd August 2023 by DGFT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India to implement a licensing requirement for imports of finished laptops, tablets, and personal computers falling under HSN 8471. This move aligns with ELCINA's vision to bolster domestic electronics manufacturing and reinforce the "Make in India" initiative promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. The new regulation, effective immediately, signifies a crucial step towards enhancing national security and reducing reliance on foreign imports. With rapidly expanding digitalization and online transactions for all services, cyber security and safeguarding our data from phishing and malware has become imperative.

Source: ELCINA PR, August 07, 2023

India plans up to Rs 50,000 crore outlay to subsidise more EVs under FAME-III scheme

The Union Government has prepared the first draft of the third phase of the FAME or Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles Scheme. The government is considering a Rs 40,000-Rs 50,000 crore outlay for FAME-III, after consultations with industry and inter-ministerial discussions, a source told CNBC-TV18, requesting anonymity. Another source said that the government is likely to extend FAME subsidy support to electric trucks, bicycles and quadricycles, in addition to electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, cars and buses. A substantial allocation could be made to support electric buses and charging infrastructure.

Source: https://www.cnbctv18.com/, August 11, 2023

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   INDUSTRY  SCAN                                                                           

General

India’s Sahasra Semiconductor to start chip production from September

Rajasthan-based Sahasra Semiconductor will start the commercial production of first Made in India memory chips from September or early October, its chief executive officer Varun Manwani told FE. This means that before Micron, Sahasra will be the company to produce chips in India. The company has set up its semiconductor assembly, test and packaging unit in Bhiwadi district from where it will initially package basic memory products like MicroSD cards, chip-on-board, etc and will later move on to advanced packaging of products such as internal memory chips.

Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/, August 14, 2023

Industrial gas sector charged up on India's semiconductor industry boom

India’s semiconductor industry had a size of around $27 billion in 2022, with almost all the requirements met through imports. With the government’s push for domestic manufacturing, the sector is likely to see fresh investments over the next few years. With players like Foxconn, Micron and Vedanta planning to move aggressively on their semiconductor plans, India’s industrial gas sector, too, is upbeat. This is because high purity gases represent the biggest material expenditure after silicon for a typical fab unit. The components industry is now seeking government help for technology transfer, land allotment and electricity and capital subsidy, as a lot of new gases will have to be manufactured in India. And, this requires upfront capital investment.

Source: https://www.business-standard.com/, August, 13, 2023

US Department of Commerce Sets New Rules To Approve Applications For The Semiconductor Companies

A day back, the Commerce Department in the US has stated that more than 460 firms have shown their interests in grabbing the semiconductor subsidy under the US Chips and Science Act in an effort to grow the nation’s competitiveness with China’s technology and science ecosystem. The government officials in the White House are now celebrating the one-year anniversary on August 9 when the incumbent President Joe Biden signed the historic Chips Act offering a subsidy of $52.7 billion for US chip manufacturing, research and development. In a media briefing, the President Biden added that a year back, several firms have announced the investment of $166 billion in electronics and semiconductor manufacturing and the new CHIPS Act will turn US again into a global hub for semiconductors and will rely less on other countries for their electronics or clean energy supply chains.

Source: https://circuitdigest.com/, August 10, 2023

IBC India Signs MoU with Karnataka Government To Establish A New Lithium-ion Battery Plant

In an effort to grow the electric vehicle industry in Karnataka in India, global battery making giant International Battery Company (IBC) and the state government have signed a contract to set-up a massive lithium-ion battery making unit. According to a report of PTI, the company has invested Rs 8,000 Crore to set-up this mega battery production facility and an MoU has already been signed with the state government. The company had previously mentioned in June that it is gearing to begin a factory in Karnataka where various decarbonisation and electrification related products, equipment and parts will be produced.

Source: https://circuitdigest.com/. August 04, 2023

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Information Technology

Global captives pip IT in hiring in a first in three years

Net hiring by global capability centres (GCCs) – or technology and engineering back-offices of large banking or retail multinationals – in India outnumbered recruitments done by information technology companies in the country for the first time in three years in the April-June quarter. While the overall IT industry hiring has been flat amid lacklustre demand, GCCs continue to hire as they are mostly greenfield projects set up from scratch, industry insiders and experts said. The top seven IT companies in the country reduced their headcount by 22,000 during the quarter ended June.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/, August 14, 2023

IT firms focus on acquisitions to tap new revenue streams

Global macro headwinds and muted revenue growth notwithstanding, information technology firms are on an acquisition spree. Deals by private equity funds are also witnessing a surge. Last week, private equity fund Carlyle said it will acquire a minority stake in engineering service company Quest Global, replacing Bain Capital and Advent, who will exit the company. Midcap IT firm Happiest Minds which did one acquisition this year, said that it is in discussion with 2-3 companies to acquire more.

Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/, August 14, 2023

Sebi plans geotagging technology solution to boost enforcement activities

As Sebi plans to implement a geotagging technology solution in the current financial year to strengthen the process of its enforcement activities, the capital markets regulator is betting big on technology. Sebi said it plans to undertake various projects to boost its information technology (IT) capacity and build a “fault-tolerant” architecture while focusing on technology. Enhancing its technological and cybersecurity capabilities further and better serving its stakeholders is the aim of the capital markets regulator. For various media such as photos, videos, etc., geotagging is the process of adding geographical information, usually in the form of latitude and longitude coordinates.

Source: https://cionews.co.in/, August, 14, 2023

Indian IT to become more attractive after data law: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, recently cleared the test of parliamentary approval. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union minister for communications, electronics and information technology, who was instrumental in the passage of the legislation, tells Sourabh Lele in an interview in New Delhi that the law will bring about behavioural changes in the internal business processes in alignment with the principles of privacy.

Source: https://www.business-standard.com/, August 12, 2023 

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Telecom

Jio to Pay Close to a Billion USD for 5G Spectrum Instalment: Report

Reliance Jio is soon going to pay around Rs 7,864 crore to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for its instalment towards the 5G spectrum. To recall, Jio acquired spectrum worth Rs 88,078 crore from the telecom department back in 2022 to roll out 5G. This will be Jio's second instalment towards the spectrum payments. The telco is trying to roll out 5G in all cities and towns of India by the end of December 2023 and seems to be on track with its goal. Jio acquired spectrum in the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz, and 26 GHz for the 5G rollout. The telco is deploying 5G SA (standalone) and is going to announce the 5G FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) service soon as well.

Source: telecomtalk.inf, August 14, 2023

TRAI’s Decision on NCF Can Lead to Tariff Hikes for DTH Packs

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has sought for comments from the public on whether the NCF (Network Capacity Fee) should be increased for the users. The Direct-to-Home (DTH) service providers charge NCF on channel packs that users subscribe to. The higher the number of channels, the more NCF the user will have to pay. TRAI's decision will determine whether the NCF pricing will go up or will remain where it is today. For the DTH companies, it is a favourable notion if the pricing goes up, as they get to earn more. But the consumers who already are dropping their traditional DTH connections to shift to IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) or OTT (over-the-top) content platforms won't like the increase in prices at all.

Source: telecomtalk.inf, August 14, 2023

More Verizon-like big deals in pipeline: HCL

HCLTech expects to sign more large and mega deals in the coming quarters following the $2.1 billion contract from Verizon announced on Thursday, chief financial officer Prateek Aggarwal told ET, as companies double down on cost optimisation amid macroeconomic uncertainty. The Verizon deal, the largest ever for the Noida-headquartered firm, “is consolidation of the work done in-house as well as done by several other service providers”, said Aggarwal. “More than 50% of the large deals currently are the cost-optimisation type of deals.” HCLTech, the country’s third-largest software services firm, has a number of deals in advanced stages in its pipeline, he said.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/, August 12, 2023

Trai recommends creation of new category of license for digital connectivity infra providers

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended creation of a new category of license called the Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Provider (DCIP) which will be allowed to create active as well as passive digital connectivity infrastructure. The license category will be an authorisation under the unified license and would not be levied any license fees, but a one-time entry fee of ₹2 lakh and processing fee at  ₹15,000 will be charged. 

Source: By GulveenAulakh, https://www.livemint.com/, August 12, 2023

Reliance Jio gets $2.2 bn from Swedish export credit agency to finance 5G rollout

Telecom major Reliance Jio has received a $2.2 billion fund support from the Swedish export credit agency to finance equipment for the 5G rollout, according to a report by PTI. Reliance Industries' annual report said the telco has largely procured gears from Swedish company Ericsson and Finnish company Nokia to deploy its 5G network, said the report. Jio is now providing wireless broadband services in about 6.2 lakh rural villages and 5G coverage to over 2,300 cities and towns, said the company.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/, August 06, 2023

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EV’s & Auto Electronics

Foxconn Technology looks at India as its third global electric vehicle hub

Foxconn Technology Group is looking at India as its third global base for tapping into the potential electric vehicle (EV) outsourcing market, with plans to capture 5 per cent of the sales worldwide by 2025. The company aims to deliver between 500,000 and 700,000 EVs by that time. The Taiwanese company has already acquired a plant in Ohio, US, for $230 million, capable of producing 500,000–600,000 vehicles annually.

Source: By Surajeet Dasgupta, https://www.business-standard.com/, August 13, 2023

Electric vehicle premiums will ride high in India

The electric vehicle race in India - the world’s third largest car market - is only in the qualifying stage but global investors are paying up for a good seat. Singapore's Temasek handed Anand Mahindra’s EV business a punchy valuation of up to $9.8 billion this month. The $23 billion Mumbai-listed Mahindra & Mahindra (MAHM.NS) generates most of its top line from its sprawling autos business churning out everything from commercial vehicles to three wheelers. Sport utility vehicles account for half the units it sold in India in the year to March and are the focus of M&M’s passenger EV business which is welcoming the new investor. So far in the financial year to March 2024, it has sold 1,651 electric passenger vehicles, nearly four times what it sold in the previous period, per BNP Paribas analyst Kumar Rakesh.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/, August 14, 2023

Investors commit Rs 6K crore for Electric Vehicle infra in Uttar Pradesh

With an intent to turn the state an Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturing hub, the Uttar Pradesh government has signed pacts worth Rs 6,000 crore related to EVs and related infrastructure. Prominent among the companies that evinced keen interest in investing in the sector is Hinduja group, which has agreed to set up a Rs 1,000-crore EV manufacturing plant on a 100-acre land. Besides, Adani group and Tata group have signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with the state government at a round-table conference on Friday.

Source: By Namita Bajpai, https://www.newindianexpress.com/, August 13, 2023

Tata Motors Expects Massive Increase in Electric Vehicle Sales in India

Tata Motors, India’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer, has achieved a significant milestone by selling one lakh units of its electric cars across the country. With over 80% market share in the EV segment, Tata Motors currently leads the electric four-wheeler market. The company anticipates that the sales of electric vehicles in India will multiply manifold in the coming years. Tata Motors predicts that by 2030, annual sales of electric vehicles could reach up to 10 lakh units. Currently, electric cars contribute around 15% to Tata Motors’ overall sales. However, the carmaker expects this figure to increase significantly, with half of its sales predicted to come from electric cars by the end of the decade.

Source: https://www.energyportal.eu/, August 14, 2023

India gets the wheels moving on a special plan for high-end EVs

The govt is looking at a new EV strategy on the lines of a phased manufacturing plan (PMP), ToI reported on August 14. This is part of a plan to woo global auto biggies such as Tesla in the high-end electric vehicles market. The new plan is likely to be company-agnostic and cater to the needs of the entire industry, besides playing a role in boosting the EV ecosystem in India, the report said. The plan is based on the basic premise that a phased manufacturing programme will help companies slowly raise the level of indigenization.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/, August 14, 2023

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Defence & Solar

Why is India’s Defence Ministry ditching Microsoft Windows for Ubuntu-based Maya OS?

India’s Defence Ministry has decided to replace Microsoft Operating System (OS) in all its computers that can connect to the Internet with Maya, an Ubuntu-based OS built locally. The new OS is currently being rolled out only in the Defence Ministry computers, and not the three Services. While the Navy is said to have cleared Maya for use in its systems, the Army and the Air Force are still evaluating the software. Maya has been developed by Indian government agencies within six months, and it is aimed at preventing malware attacks by cybercriminals who are increasingly targeting critical infrastructure and government agencies. The new OS will be backed by a protection system called Chakravyuh. This end point system is also being deployed in the computers that have Maya installed.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/, August 13, 2023

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Consumer Electronics

MediaTek to Focus on Automotive, Edge AI for Growth

MediaTek’s revenues were slightly up sequentially but down 43% annually in Q2 2023. Inventory has gradually come down to a relatively normal level, but the demand for smartphones will remain slow due to the global macroeconomic situation and the refurbished smartphone market. Against this backdrop, MediaTek is diversifying its portfolio by focusing on the auto, smart edge and custom ASIC segments. The company is estimated to take over two years to get material revenues from these segments. ith the growth in generative AI, the demand for edge AI processing has accelerated. Being one of the top players in edge devices, MediaTek is well-positioned to benefit from this shift. The company will focus on winning enterprise ASIC projects but catching up with major players like Broadcom and Marvell will take time, as customers typically work with existing suppliers for repeat projects.

Source: By SHIVANI PARASHAR, https://www.counterpointresearch.com/, August 10, 2023

India Mobile Phone Cumulative Production Crosses 2 Billion Units Under ‘Make in India’ Initiative

‘Made in India’ mobile phone shipments crossed the 2-billion cumulative units mark under the ‘Make in India’ initiative during 2014-2022, registering a 23% CAGR, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Made in India service. The huge internal demand, increasing digital literacy and government push are the major reasons for this growth. As a result, India has become the second-biggest mobile phone-producing country. The Indian government has introduced schemes and initiatives such as the Phased Manufacturing Program (PMP), Make in India, Production Linked Incentive (PLI) and Atma-Nirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) to increase local manufacturing and value addition.

Source: https://www.counterpointresearch.com/, August 14, 2023

Apple Inc Receives High Rating in Consumer Electronics Industry

According to InvestorsObserver, Apple Inc (AAPL) has received a rating of 100, placing it near the top of the Consumer Electronics industry. This score means that Apple Inc performs better than 100% of other stocks in the industry. Additionally, Apple Inc has an overall rating of 68, surpassing 68% of all stocks. The Consumer Electronics industry is ranked 128 out of 148 industries. Understanding these ratings can be challenging, as there are numerous numbers and ratios to consider. InvestorsObserver simplifies this process ranking stocks on eight different metrics. A score of 68 indicates that the stock is more appealing than 68% of other stocks.

Source: https://www.opp.today/, August 14, 2023

More perks for electronics store staff this festive season

Foreign holidays, gold coins, travel vouchers, and cash incentives are some of the perks consumer electronic brands and retailers are offering store promoters and retail staff this festive season to accelerate sales. The festive season, which starts from September and runs till December-end, sees a flurry of discounts and a battle between offline retailers and online platforms for customer traction. However, manpower continues to remain a challenge as many retail staff have quit during two years of covid when offline stores were shut.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/, August 04, 2023

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EMSIF

(Special section of the MSME related news under ELCINA Micro & Small Industry Forum)

GST, demonetisation impact on MSMEs: Read govt’s response on impact assessment, business recovery

The Ministry of MSME has not conducted any independent assessment of the impact of demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the growth of the MSME sector, informed Minister of State (MoS) in the MSME Ministry Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. “In fact, the MSME sector has shown resilience in terms of GST growth despite the COVID-19 disruptions,” he said citing data on year-on-year growth in GST paid by MSMEs in FY22. The FY20 and FY21 GST by micro enterprises stood at Rs 2.2 lakh crore and Rs 2 lakh crore respectively while FY22 collection stood at Rs 2.3 lakh crore, crossing the pre-pandemic levels. Likewise, GST paid by small enterprises remained flat at Rs 0.9 lakh crore in FY20 and FY21 but grew to Rs 1 lakh crore in FY22.

Source: https://www.a2ztaxcorp.com/, August 12, 2023

260% jump in funds utilised by MSME Ministry in 5 years: Govt data

The Ministry of MSME spent Rs 23,583.90 crore in the financial year 2022-23, over 260 per cent increase from Rs 6,513.13 crore spent in FY19, informed Minister of State in the MSME Ministry Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. According to the data shared by the MoS, the expenditure of the MSME ministry was Rs 6,717.53 crore in 2019-20, which declined to Rs 5,647.50 crore in the following year. However, it increased to Rs 15,160.46 crore in 2021-22. The government allocated Rs 22,138 crore in the 2023-24 budget estimate (BE) to the MSME ministry vis-a-vis Rs 3,327 crore allocated during 2014-15 BE and Rs 2,977 crore during 2013-14 BE. The FY24 allocation to the ministry included revenue expenditure of Rs 21,542 crore and capital expenditure of Rs 594.5 crore.

Source: By Girish Khurana, https://www.financialexpress.com/, August 11, 2023

EU raises data privacy concerns over proposed G20 MSME portal

The European Union has raised data privacy concerns at the meta information portal that India has proposed for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) of the G20 countries. The portal is sought to have details of MSMEs of every G20 member including the sectors and products they deal with. Establishing an online digital portal is crucial as it would offer integrated research, trade and business information for market research by the MSMEs.

Source: By Kritika Suneja, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/, August 14, 2023

MSME exhibition under way in Coimbatore

According to the president of the Association, P. Nallathambi, 11 public sector undertakings such as Cochin Shipyard, BHEL, and Ordnance Factory have displayed components and products that MSMEs can make. This will create awareness among the MSME units on the opportunities available. It is mandatory for the PSUs to procure 25 % of their needs from MSMEs. Many of them are hence looking at widening their MSME supply base. The MSMEs here need time to register on the government portal and start manufacturing the components, he said.

Soure: Hindu.com, August 11, 2023

FTAs & MSMEs: Globalising India's Small Businesses

In recent times, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government has increased its pace to settle free trade agreements (FTAs) with several nations. The latest example is the ongoing negotiations with the United Kingdom, which are going in full swing and expected to complete soon. The traditional approach to FTAs involved tariff-cutting exercises and liberalisation of services, however, not it includes modern trade elements like sustainability, resilience, labour, gender and digital trade with a focus on sectors, such as gems and jewellery, agro-processed foods, textiles, technology services and financial services. While India has signed 13 FTAs so far, there has been a shift in the architecture of the earlier FTAs with Japan, Korea, and ASEAN, as well as the recent FTAs with the UAE and Australia. Industry leaders have told BW Businessworld that this shift is also likely to continue across other FTA negotiations with various nations, such as India's close ally Israel, Bangladesh, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which are expected to start over the next few months.

Source: https://www.businessworld.in/, August 14, 2023

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ELCINA EVENTS , ACTIVITIES & SERVICES 

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ELCINA Publications

https://elcina.com/roadmap-for-developing-pcb-eco-system-in-india	Roadmap For Developing PCB Eco-System in India Key Findings Indian PCB market and industry size in terms of domestic production, exports, and imports Growth drivers and challenges (needs & gaps) in the Indian PCB industry Growth potential of PCB manufacturing in India and identify enablers for creating & strengthening the domestic value chain Key inputs required viz. investments, technology, and infra eco-system Details of key PCB value chain players – global and domestic, who can be invited to invest to establish a strong PCB industry
https://elcina.com/ems-task-force-report-on-market-industry-analysis-of-ems-sector-in-india	EMS Task Force Report Key Findings Currently EMS Industry (Contract Manufacturing Services) are valued 832 Bn $ and are projected to grow 1055 Bn by 2025. Domestic electronics manufacturing is estimated at USD 75 Bn of which 39 Bn constitutes EMS value. This is divided into 23.5 Bn domestic Mfg. and USD 15.5 Bn PCBS/Sub-Assembly imports. Further USD 53.5 Bn is finished Electronic Goods imports of which USD 17 Bn is EMS value. Thus total EMS opportunity loss is US$ 32.5 Bn (15.5 +17). The report estimates that EMS production can grow realistically from USD 23.5 Bn today to USD 152 Bn by 2025 at CAGR of 45%. This will meet 75% of the countries EMS requirement of US$ 203 Bn by 2025 against a total estimated market of 400 Bn.
https://elcina.com/elcina-task-force-report-on-electronic-components	ELCINA Task Force Report on Electronic Components Key Findings Current status of component manufacturing in India – Areas of competence vs Gaps and inadequacies Components which urgently require investments and growth in domestic manufacturing Emerging technology and new components for upcoming opportunities Constraints and bottlenecks to be addressed Overcoming Policy constraints, WTO (ITA-1) deadlock and Zero Duty issue Strategy for overcoming these constraints Eco-System requirements- Role of Central and State Governments
https://elcina.com/elcina-directory-of-indian-electronics-industry	ELCINA Directory of Indian Electronics Industry 2022-23 Description ELCINA Directory of Indian Electronics Industry – includes the updates on Indian Electronics Industry and a host of additional improved features covering business environment, statistical industry scan, company databases plus various projections. This handy compendium with its easy-to-read format attracts the attention of a growing number of users (within India and abroad) Apart from electronics industry, the users of this Directory range from financial institutions, commercial banks, FIIs, Consultancy organizations as well as industry promotion institutes across the world….

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