In the next five years, Tamil Nadu is well positioned to become a $100 billion electronics system design and manufacturing industry.
Tamil Nadu has emerged as one of the major electronics hardware manufacturing and exporting States in the country, according to State Industry Secretary S Krishnan, as global companies leverage the State's well-developed manufacturing system.
“The growth rate of the electronics industry is around 14 per cent. I only expect that to grow faster. Tamil Nadu should hopefully be about 25-30 per cent of the country’s overall electronics industry which is expected to be around $300 billion in the next five years,” he said.
The importance of India's presence in the global electronics value chain, as well as Tamil Nadu's role within the country, he said at a press conference hosted by the Electronics Industries Association of India (ELCINA) to announce the 12th Source India Summit.
The event is a business-to-business platform that will take place in the city on February 13 and 14 to help accelerate the growth of Indian electronics hardware manufacturing. According to a press release, the two-day event will focus on the challenges that the electronic industry and major industry stakeholders are facing.
The electronics industry is critical to Tamil Nadu's economic development. Aside from providing large-scale employment, this industry plays an important role in that it can employ highly educated human resources with degrees such as Ph.D. or M.Tech.
“We are very keen that this sector grows,” he said.
Another significant area that provides opportunities for Tamil Nadu is the electronic components sector. This is similar to what the government did in the automobile industry.
State's strength was initially in the auto component sector, and it then moved upstream. Similarly, there is a distinct possibility of moving upstream into sophisticated electronics parts and design via the electronic component sector.
"This is a low-risk, low-investment strategy. "A significant proportion of companies, including MSMEs, have participated," he said.