Budget 2017: Tech Firms Call for Electronics Manufacturing Ecosystem

Though Budget 2017-18 demonstrated the government's commitment towards making India a digital economy, tech players on Thursday said the absence of a robust electronics manufacturing ecosystem in the country will only restrain the Make in India and Digital India vision.

"We are disappointed with the lack of provisions for creating a robust domestic electronics manufacturing ecosystem in India beyond smartphones. I strongly urge the government to re-consider this as the absence of a robust electronics manufacturing ecosystem will only restrain the ambitious Make in India and Digital India vision," said Debjani Ghosh, Managing Director, Intel South Asia.

Rahul Agarwal, CEO, Lenovo India, said the focus on digital literacy will act as an enabler for job creation and skill development.

Budget 2017: 'Made in India' Mobile Phones Likely to See Price Hike

However, "we would expect more proactive measures from the government on ease of doing business as the cost of compliance in India is higher as compared to other countries, because of which large scale manufacturing is not yet shifting to India," Agarwal added.

While welcoming the government's move to reduce corporate tax for small companies to 25 percent with annual turnover upto Rs. 50 crores, Samson Khaou, Managing Director, Dassault Systemes India, told IANS that 96 percent of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) will benefit from this move.

"This move will prove to be a welcome relief for the cash-strapped MSME sector. About 96 percent of the MSME's will benefit from this move and it sets government's objective clear of making India competitive globally," Khaou said, adding that the move will boost exports and manufacturing at large.