 "Union Minister for Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw")
The Indian electronics manufacturing sector is set to double in size to more than $200 billion over the next 3-4 years, driven by the reforms announced in the Budget for 2025-26, Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
Speaking to the media after the Budget presentation, Vaishnaw said the Budget for the upcoming fiscal year addresses industry concerns such as the rationalisation of tariff structures for raw materials and the storage of finished products in the electronics sector.
“Employment in the electronics sector is 25 lakh right now, and this could easily quadruple over the next four years. A lot of large-volume electronics manufacturing will come to the country now. The successes of electronics manufacturing can be used as a template for any sector,” the Union Minister said. ALSO READ: Union Budget 2025-26: Accelerating India's march towards Viksit Bharat
The Budget 2025-26 also cut the basic customs duty (BCD) on lithium battery scrap, cobalt products, zinc, and certain raw materials and goods used in mobile phone battery production to zero, which was needed to spur domestic battery manufacturing, Vaishnaw said.
Apart from the changes in BCD, the Budget for the next fiscal has allocated Rs 2,000 crore for the India AI Mission. Under this initiative, the government aims to establish 20 AI data curation units at the central level over the next financial year, while also working to establish 80 AI labs at various higher education institutes across the country.
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The scheme to set up outsourced assembly and testing units has been allocated Rs 3,900 crore in the Budget for 2025-26, compared to Rs 2,500 crore allocated last fiscal. Similarly, the scheme to establish semiconductor fabrication units in India has been allocated nearly Rs 2,500 crore, up from Rs 1,200 crore in the revised estimate for 2024-25.
The increase in manufacturing and new investments will have a multiplier effect on the services sector, he said.
Vaishnaw also highlighted the Global Capability Centres (GCCs) framework, announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her speech on Saturday. He said the IT ministry will work with states to encourage the establishment of high-value GCCs.
