Executives with top manufacturers such as LG, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and Voltas Beko said they expect the trend to continue through the festive season.
In yet another step towards India's Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign, the government has imposed fresh restrictions on imports of various types of television sets, including LCDs. The move is targeted at reducing its import dependence on India and make it a self-reliant nation.
The government on Tuesday re-introduced import curbs on TV sets and put them on the restricted list for the first time in 20 years with the objective of boosting local manufacturing. Companies will now have to apply for a licence to import TV sets.
"Currently, over 85% of our Mi TVs sold in India are manufactured in India. We believe that this decision will encourage and give a boost to local manufacturing," a Xiaomi India spokesperson said.
“The restrictions mandated through the Import licensing regime as per the new GOI notification will stop the unrestricted inflow of finished goods/CBU’s. Imports of CBU’s in 2019-20 crossed Rs 5,000 crores,” ICEA said.
The curbs are applicable to TV sets included in the ‘other colour’ category that covers LCD TVs among the goods. There is no restriction on monochrome TVs. The total imports under the restricted category in fiscal 2020 were $781 million. Of these, Vietnam and China accounted for $428.37 million and $292.48 million, respectively.
According to industry estimates, India annually imports festive lights valued at over Rs 1,000 crore and gift items at Rs 3,500 crore, with 70% to 80% of the sale during the Diwali period.
Companies said the acceleration in scaling up is due to high demand in the past two months exceeding expectations, and to build up inventory, considering localised lockdowns are likely to continue in some areas
Companies are cancelling orders mainly for power distribution and transmission gears and turning to other countries despite higher costs. The process began in May after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vocal-for-local call. This month, the campaign intensified with restrictions on power gear imports but industry wants to make sure that this does not create disruptions.
“We are mapping the entire land bank available for manufacturing…We need to have a fab coming to India quickly now. That is a missing piece,” Piyush Goyal said. He asked the industry to identify such units which can be moved to India from other countries where they are not viable, and look at clusters where an ecosystem can be created where all clearances are online.
Electronics and appliance makers said production was hit last week for 3-4 days as imports were held up. Though consignments have started moving, the backlog has led to shortages and disrupted output. The curbs were imposed in the wake of heightened tension on the India-China border.
In an exclusive interview with ET, Advait Vaidya, business head - mobile communications at LG Electronics, said the brand has seen 10 times increased sales of smartphones in the past two months due to the anti-China sentiment.
Signify Innovations, erstwhile Philips Lighting, has said the industry is looking for alternate destinations to source components as procurement cost from China is not going down since last three-four years.
The UV-C disinfection system is designed and manufactured in India and will be available here first, followed by Latin American countries and Europe. The light source in the system has been tested in Boston University for its effectiveness in inactivating the virus that causes covid-19.
Sudhir Goel has been instrumental in establishing the firm’s manufacturing facility at Pondicherry. He later took on the portfolio of chief supply chain officer, handling complete supply chain - operations, procurement, material planning and manufacturing functions.
