NEW DELHI: Dispelling speculation that the Indian government is planning to ban the manufacturing of Chinese smartphones below Rs 12,000, Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday said the government has no such plan to ban Chinese mobiles under Rs 12,000. The minister, however, said that measures would be taken to ensure space for Indian companies and suppliers.
“Wherever we feel that Indian brands are being crowded out due to unfair practices we will intervene,” said the minister.
He was answering media queries after launching a report titled as ‘Globalise to Localise: Exporting at Scale and Deepening the Ecosystem are Vital to Higher Domestic Value Addition’. “In our scheme of things, there is space for Indian brands. In our electronics supply chain, Indian brands, Indian entrepreneurs also have a role to play.” “It is not about exclusion of foreign suppliers or foreign brands but we believe that it is our policy and the government of India’s mandatory duty to build Indian brands,” the minister said.
There were reports that the government was mulling a policy to restrict Chinese smartphone companies from dominating the below Rs 12,000 market segment. The move would have given a major dent to Chinese mobile makers as smartphones under Rs 12,000 account for one-third of the country’s total sales of smartphones.
According to the market tracker Counterpoint Research, Chinese companies contribute nearly 80% of shipments in this segment. Talking about the report, the minister said that the report will help the government identify the challenges that are to be met and the strategies that are to be adopted to achieve the target of $300 billion in electronic production by 2026.
Highlighting the shift in global value chains in recent years, the minister further said that post-COVID the value chains of electronics are undergoing deep irreversible changes. It presents to India the current momentum and opportunity, which is explained by the $120 billion export target that India has for 2026.
“The government is laser-focused on achieving the target of $300 billion in electronic production by 2026.
And for this, we have always emphasized on strengthening our domestic manufacturing ecosystem to make India more resilient to supply chain disruptions. Our aim is to emerge as a reliable and trusted partner in global value chains,” said the minister. Chandrasekhar said the industry has submitted its report on requirements for increasing domestic value addition which will be considered for taking appropriate steps.
.