MAKE IN INDIA

As world economies restart their engines in a bid to regain lost ground due to the Covid-19 pandemic, India too shows signs of economic buoyancy and promise. India’s Make in India initiative holds a key to the global economic revival, something that should interest Australian government ministries, corporate sector, entrepreneurs, institutions seeking R&D collaborations and Australia Inc in general, among others. India assumes greater importance as several major world economies including American, Japanese, German, British and South Korean look to move out and diversify their businesses from China. India has jumped to 63rd rank in the World Bank’s Ease of Development 2020 report, and has also been ranked as the 9th largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment destinations in 2019 by the World Investment Report 2020 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

ISRO’s reusable rocket mission boosts indigenous tech

Bengaluru, April 4 (IANS) As India moved a step ahead in getting its own reusable launch vehicle or reusable rocket with the country's space agency successfully completing the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX), the entire country rejoiced at this unique milestone with several firsts. Barely 320 km away in Salem, Tamil Nadu, the joy of 'SonaSPEED' team knew no bounds that its 25kW quadruplex 'Brushless DC' motor was used in the helicopter hoist for lifting RLV LEX to 4.5 km altitude and releasing for autonomous landing at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka in the early hours on April 2.

"The team at Sona College of Technology's electrical and electronics engineering department recommits to developing and delivering indigenous technology products for mission critical applications," Professor N Kannan, Head, SonaSPEED, Sona College of Technology, told IANS on Tuesday. In a first in the world, a winged body has been carried to an altitude of 4.5 km by a helicopter and released for carrying out an autonomous landing on a runway. SonaSPEED motors have been part of many key missions of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

"Successful deployment of SonaSPEED brushless DC motors in ISRO's indigenous landing gear marks the arrival of 'Make in India' mission," said Chocko Valliappa, Founder and CEO, Technology and IT firm, Vee Technologies.

"Access to this homegrown technology spurs Vee Technologies' motor division to participate in India's defence sector with greater confidence," he added.

HP Inc to further boost its local manufacturing footprint in India: CEO

Chicago, March 30 (IANS) As supply chain disruptions continue to haunt tech companies globally, PC and printer major, HP Inc is bullish on manufacturing its next-gen range of products locally in India, to address the domestic market in a much better and efficient way, the company's CEO Enrique Lores has emphasised.

Lores told IANS that India is a key market for HP where growth continues to happen and the company continues to see more opportunities going forward.

"We will increase our manufacturing footprint in India to cater well to the domestic demand. Eventually, we see India manufacturing to help us better serve the rest of the world," Lores said during the company's flagship 'HP Amplify Partner Conference 2023' here. HP Inc is already manufacturing multiple PC products, including laptops in India, as part of the government's 'Make in India' initiative.

The company manufactures multiple models of laptops, desktop towers, mini desktops at the Flex facility in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. HP is also manufacturing display monitors in the country.

The company led the Indian PC (excluding tablets) market with more than 30 per cent market share in both Q4 and full-year 2022, according to latest data from global market research firm Canalys.

The company is currently manufacturing a wide range of laptops in India, with products such as HP EliteBooks, HP ProBooks and HP G8 series notebooks.

It has also expanded its locallymanufactured commercial desktops by adding various models of desktop mini towers (MT), mini desktops (DM), small form factor (SFF) desktops and a range of All-in-One PCs. These products have both Intel and AMD processor options and cater to a wide range of customer segments.

HP partnered with supply chain and manufacturing solutions provider Flex to manufacture commercial desktops in the country from August 2020. According to Lores, India offers a massive opportunity for the company.

"We will continue to invest in India which has always been one of the primary markets for us globally," the HP CEO told IANS. The PC and printer major is expanding its portfolio in manufacturing across multiple products within India in order to make sure that it plays a meaningful role in building the country as a global manufacturing hub.

The company has been working with the central and state governments in the mission to empower the lives of millions of citizens and enhance the community's quality of life. According to Lores, as large enterprises and small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India and elsewhere hit the refresh button in the post-pandemic times, digital transformation has entered top gear.

(Nishant Arora can be reached at nishant.a@ians.in)

Apple contribution to ‘Make in India’ smartphone reaches 25% in value terms

New Delhi, March 29 (IANS) 'Make in India' shipments from Apple grew 65 per cent (on-year) by volume and 162 per cent by value, taking the brand's value share to 25 per cent in 2022, up from 12 per cent in 2021, a new report has shown. The contribution of exports in 'Make in India' smartphone shipments reached the highest ever in 2022 both in volume (20 per cent) and value terms (30 per cent), according to Counterpoint Research.

Overall, 'Make in India' smartphone shipments declined 3 per cent YoY in 2022 (JanuaryDecember) to reach 188 million units.

The major factor behind this decline was the softening of consumer demand due to macroeconomic headwinds, especially in the second half of the year.

"Apple's EMS (electronics manufacturing services) partners Foxconn Hon Hai and Wistron were the fastest growing manufacturers among the top 10 in Q4 2022. The growth was also fuelled by increasing exports from Apple," said senior research analyst Prachir Singh.

In Q4 2022, Samsung emerged as the top smartphone manufacturer, ahead of OPPO whose manufacturing shipments declined 31 per cent YoY due to inventory issues in the entry-tier segment. "Apple's EMS partners Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron and Pegatron were among the top 10 EMS players in India in 2022 in terms of volume. In terms of value, Foxconn Hon Hai and Wistron led the EMS landscape," said Singh.

Both of these manufacturers also received the PLI incentive in the recent disbursements.

India to cross $10 bn worth mobile exports in FY22-23, Apple leads at 50%

New Delhi, March 22 (IANS)

Buoyed by attractive government incentives towards local manufacturing, India is all set to reach a remarkable $10 billion (over Rs 82,000 crore) worth smartphone exports in the fiscal year ending March 31, industry data showed on Wednesday.

According to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), Apple's 'Make in India' smartphone now constitute 50 per cent of total exports.

Samsung is second with 40 per cent mobile exports while other smartphone players constitute 10 per cent export share.

Smartphone exports from India have doubled from a corresponding period from last fiscal year, driven by production-

linked incentive (PLI) schemes. The top five global destinations India currently exports mobile phones to are the UAE, the US, the Netherlands, the UK and Italy, according to the ICEA data.

"Efficacy and maturity of an industry is only judged with robust exports. Mobile phones policy and outreach initiatives have been relentless and the results are in front of us," Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of ICEA, told IANS.

"The mobile phone industry will cross $40 billion manufacturing output and 25 per cent exports at $10 billion is a stellar performance," he added. Reports surfaced earlier this year that Tim Cook-led Apple will quickly shift some of its China manufacturing to India and Vietnam in the next 2-3 years.

India is likely to produce 45-50 per cent of Apple's iPhones by 2027, at par with China, where 80-85 per cent of iPhones were produced in 2022.