Acer India's vision for PLI 2.0: Strengthening local electronics manufacturing

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Acer India's vision for PLI 2.0: Strengthening local electronics manufacturing

Acer India's vision for PLI 2.0: Strengthening local electronics manufacturing

Industry News
Sep 07,23

The PLI 2.0 initiative aspires to elevate India's domestic manufacturing landscape, particularly in the electronics sector.

Acer India's vision for PLI 2.0: Strengthening local electronics manufacturing

Two decades ago, Acer, the Indian division of the Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation, set foot in the country and commenced the assembly of personal computers. Acer actively participated in the first phase of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for IT Hardware, known as PLI 1.0, and stood among the select few companies eligible for incentives in its inaugural year. Now, in line with its ongoing commitment to India, Acer is gearing up for PLI 2.0, foreseeing a substantial surge in local assembly activities for its product range.

Sudhir Goel, Chief Business Officer of Acer India, shared his insights in an interview, emphasizing the enduring dedication to assembling personal computers within India's borders. He stressed Acer's belief in nurturing the local ecosystem and its involvement in PLI 1.0, where they collaborated with and fostered the growth of two Indian EMS partners. Acer's distinction in being among the early beneficiaries of PLI 1.0 incentives during the first year underscored its dedication to this initiative.

Discussing the value addition achieved through the local assembly of tablets, PCs, and computers since the inception of PLI 1.0, Goel highlighted the time-intensive nature of this process, which hinges on the development of a robust local ecosystem. Acer has significantly contributed to this endeavour by imparting global processes and supply chain systems to its partners. Their efforts have extended to various components, including PCBA, SSD, Memory, Adapters, and Power Supply.

However, the PLI 2.0 scheme for IT Hardware seeks to cultivate a comprehensive local manufacturing ecosystem for a wide array of components. Incentives are structured to encourage domestic value addition, motivating the industry to develop an increasingly self-sustained local ecosystem.

The PLI 2.0 initiative aspires to elevate India's domestic manufacturing landscape, particularly in the electronics sector. This aligns harmoniously with the objectives of the Make in India initiative, which aims to boost domestic value addition, reduce reliance on imports, generate employment opportunities, and position India as a globally competitive hub for electronics manufacturing. Goel acknowledges that this transformation will take time and will be achieved through phased manufacturing, which is precisely how the incentives in PLI 2.0 are designed. Acer is optimistic that, within the six-year timeframe of PLI 2.0, the local supply chain will become robust, and many components will be sourced locally.

Goel lauds the initial IT Hardware PLI 1.0 initiative, recognizing it as a significant milestone that spurred the industry to acknowledge India as a hub for high-end electronic manufacturing. This initiative demonstrated a successful collaboration between the government and industry to shift the supply chain to India. Despite some shortcomings, resulting in partial success, the government has launched PLI 2.0. To encourage greater participation, the government has also imposed restrictions on the import of IT hardware effective November 1, requiring companies to obtain licenses for importing laptops, tablets, servers, and other relevant equipment.

Source: Business Today