Amid concerns over the increasing imports of electronics products, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) President R Chandrashekhar has asserted that Indian imports of electronics by 2020 will increase two fold over the present figure of oil imports. Observing that policy decisions to boost industry growth does not come in the manner as it should be, NASSCOM President emphasized that Industry in the country is still not focused on policy making and is currently playing the role of only a regulating body. In the manufacturing sector, there are two industry bodies, one representing the domestic industry players and other global players.
R Chandrashekhar added that consultation in policy making is essential and expressed the need for the presence of different bodies like NASSCOM. Now, it has become imperative that country’s premium institutions like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) should come forward and make changes with policy makers and industry bodies. The Centre for Technology and Policy set up by IIT can play an important role in promotion and assessment of public policies introduced by technological and scientific innovations, and identification of key technology gaps in meeting developmental goals in key areas.
Rising India’s imports of electronics projects reflects the need to enhance investment to boost domestic manufacturing of electronics products. However, the government has also taken several measures like preferential market access policy in order to boost local production. The National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has recently floated a plan to set up a billion-dollar venture capital fund to increase domestic production of electronic products especially telecom equipment and devices.