Gujarat govt to set up 'Electronic Mission' to boost product manufacturing

In a bid to give fillip to indigenous manufacturing of electronics products and attract investment in the sector, Gujarat government has proposed to set up ‘Gujarat Electronics Mission’ under the new draft Electronics Policy (2014-19) for the state. The mission will identify and facilitate formation of Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs) and set up offices in different countries to attract investments to Gujarat from those countries in Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector.

The government, under the new policy, has proposed slew of sops for the new and existing units including exemption of 100 per cent VAT (value added tax) on products manufactured and sold in Gujarat for an initial period of five years,  interest subsidy for five years at the rate of 7 per cent for micro enterprises, 5 per cent for small & medium enterprises and 2 per cent for large industries having an actual investment up to Rs  100 crore.  Maximum amount of interest subsidy per annum shall be Rs  25 lakh for MSMEs and Rs  50 lakh for large units.

According to state government officials, the Electronic Mission will be set up under the department of Science and Technology and will be responsible for the implementation of the Electronics Policy (2014-19). Till the mission becomes fully functional, the industries commissionarate will be the nodal agency for the implementation of the new policy which will be announce soon.

Besides facilitating the formation of EMCs, the mission will also work towards attracting top design companies in ESMD sector to invest in Gujarat. It will also set up incubation centres to encourage small entrepreneurs and start-ups in the ESDM sector.

Under the new electronic policy, the state government targets to establish Gujarat as “globally-recognized hub for the ESDM industry with a turnover of USD 16 billion, investment of USD 12 billion and to create employment opportunities for half a million people by 2020.

To attract investments in the ESDM sector the state government has proposed sops ranging from VAT exemption, power tariff subsidy, interest subsidy to name a few.

It has been proposed that slab-based power tariff subsidy will be made available to the electronics hardware manufacturing mega projects for an initial period of five years. Those mega projects purchasing electricity only from the power distribution companies will be eligible for this subsidy. New units will also be provided 100 per cent exemption on electricity duty for a period of five years from the date of commencement of production which will be subject to a ceiling of 100 per cent of capital investment.

Besides exemption from stamp duty and registration fee in case of lease, sale or transfer of land for the first time, new units or existing one carrying out expansion will also get full VAT exemption on products manufactured and sold in Gujarat for a period of five years from the

In the next five years the state government targets to set up at least four greenfield and two brown field EMCs with infrastructure like sea, air and inland connectivity.