There are 268 mobile and accessories factories in India and not 120, as is often quoted. (file pic) | Photo Credit: Ramesh Sharma

The India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) has said that there are 268 mobile and accessories factories in India and not 120, as is often quoted by many senior leaders in the government.

A detailed physical verification was undertaken by the ICEA during the past two-three months, when surveyors commissioned by it visited these factories pan-India, the industry association said.

Advertising Advertising

“ICEA and the industry were always clear that the number of units exceeded 120, which was usually reported by the government. The physical survey vindicated this belief and the total number of new factories reported as per this report stands at 268 and not 120. The corresponding employment number is 6.70 lakh and not 4.50 lakh,” it said.

Accessories industry

He said that accessory like powerbank is becoming a big industry in India with a market of around ₹2,000 crore, which may go up to ₹15,000 crore in the future.

It may be noted that as of 2014, there were only three manufacturing units functioning in India with mobile handset manufacturing plummeting to 58 million units as compared with 130 million in 2013. Subsequently, components manufacturing had shut down almost completely during 2014-15 after the Nokia manufacturing unit in Chennai downed shutters. However, “Government’s policies and specific interventions along with the hard work of global and indigenous entrepreneurs have helped India attain the number two mobile handset manufacturing destination tag,” Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA said.

Job opportunities

He said that this is just the ‘beginning of a gigantic journey’ and opportunity lies only with the government where it can involve States and the industry to create over 50 lakh jobs and 1,800 such new factories over the next six-seven years.

“The industry faces serious challenges in terms of lack of a competitive corporate tax regime, lack of ready-to-move-in infrastructure facilities to start production,” he said adding that countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Nigeria and South Africa are becoming a big competitors in mobile manufacturing.