Acer India and Dixon Technologies’ partnership will boost Make in India and is likely to give a strong impetus to India’s manufacturing competitiveness and leverage the production-linked incentive (PLI).
Acer plans to manufacture laptops under the Value Segment category, mainstream segment, and education segment at the Dixon Factory and this will create new employment opportunities for the youth, up-skilling and help develop ancillary electronic industries in India along with bringing in global manufacturing standards.
The manufacturing unit was inaugurated by Mr Saurabh Gaur, JT Secretary Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in the presence of Sunil Vachani, Executive Chairman, Dixon Technologies, Harish Kohli, President & Managing Director Acer India and Sudhir Goel, Chief Business Officer, Acer India.
Talking about the association, Mr Sudhir Goel, Chief Business Officer, Acer India commented, “Acer and Dixon Technologies are firm supporters of the Government of India’s “Make in India” initiative. With the PLI scheme, India now appears set to seize the opportunity to manufacture laptops. Hence at Acer, we see it as a big opportunity not just for ourselves but for all PC makers which will create domestic champion companies in electronics manufacturing under the Scheme and will give a boost to vocal for local while aiming for global scale. It will help in making India a viable destination for electronics manufacturing and give a boost to Atmanirbhar Bharat. It will also create employment opportunities in the country in this segment. Dixon Technologies is the largest home-grown design-focused and solutions company. Acer has always believed in developing local eco system by providing our expertise in global processes. With Dixon strength in Electronic Manufacturing services, they were the obvious choice when we decided to start local manufacturing of Notebook. Acer will manufacture around 5 lakhs laptops catering to segments from value to mainstream including the education segment under Acer global manufacturing practices and guidance. The opening of this facility is a testament to our dedication to the Government of India’s flagship ‘Make in India’ initiative.”
Our perception:
- The PLI for IT hardware brought by Government of India is a game-changer that will have the advantage to increase domestic value addition and significantly position India as a key export’s hub
- The impetus to PC manufacturing is particularly significant as it can help reduce imports which have become more important as their usage increase rapidly amid the Covid-19 restriction.
Pandemic has thrown opportunities and few countries especially in South- East Asia like Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, etc. are also trying to attract manufacturers to enable manufacturing in their own countries. So, India will have to compete with them. We have a few advantages like large domestic consumption which may go in our favour. PLI scheme gives incentives based on manufacturing output irrespective of consumption being domestic or export. It works well because it assures a captive market especially since Govt supports it with Preferential Market access. At the same time, an investment made by manufacturers will give a better economy of scale and hence ROI if they cater to both domestic and export. So PLI is expected to boost export of electronic during next few years.
Discussing about the PLI scheme, Mr Goel, Acer says, “ The Make in India Initiative, PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme for the electronics sector are intended to provide encouragement and boost domestic manufacturing, localization of electronics manufacturing, invite foreign direct investment, enhancing exports. The advent of new technologies like AI, ML, IoT will create demand for new products. Now, it is the right time for India to improve its electronics hardware manufacturing skills and combine them with software development to create one of the world’s powerhouses in the electronics area. India cannot afford to miss the opportunity this time.
The global electronics market is overshadowed by global value chains. India will have to find a way of combining into global value chains to boost production and exports. The main challenge in front of India is to make a quick change to the manufacturing of high technology electronics items.
Atul B. Lall , Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Dixon Technologies, said, “Acer is one of the world’s leading ICT companies with a worldwide presence in more than 160 countries. They are known for their affordable yet technologically advanced products. Both Dixon and Acer are firm proponents of Government of India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision and we are confident that this partnership will scale up export and employment opportunities in the country.”
While discussing about the benefits to the consumers, Mr Goel says, “With in-house manufacturing, the company can design the product at a lower cost by offering the same quality. ‘Make in India’ initiative is to support the same cause. With a lower cost of manufacturing to the company, the customers can benefit from a necessary reduction in cost during buying the product. Logistics cost, supply bottlenecks and other global events will affect less if we are able to manufacture in the country. Customer stands to benefit from lower cost, faster to market products and consistent availability.”
Mr Goel gives a message, “There has never been a better time to invest in manufacturing sector in India. With the Govt. of India determined to support the manufacturing eco-system right upto high-tech semi-conductor industry with the latest announcement of 76000 crore incentive scheme along with fast clearance of approvals and reducing bottlenecks in the bureaucracy I encourage more companies to set base in India to serve domestic and export markets. “
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