ICEA sets up taskforce to take India-US electronics trade to $100 bn in a decade

New Delhi, July 3

The India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) on Monday said that it is setting up a task-force to ensure that the current electronics trade between India and the US goes up from an estimated $8 billion to $100 billion in a decade.

The warmth in the India-US relations was perceptible during the interactions with US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the setting up of the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) that will aid in cooperation in futuristic areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, space exploration, semiconductors and defence technology.

“We are confident that this partnership will help usher in a new era of innovation and collaboration between India and the US,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA.

“We are setting up a task-force to ensure that the current electronics trade between the 2 countries goes up from an estimated $8 billion to $100 billion in a decade. The role of lead firms of global value chains (GVCs) will be crucial but, at the same time, new jobs and opportunities for Indian businesses and startups will be created,” he added.

US chipmaker Micron Technology last month signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre to construct its first semiconductor plant in the country.

Micron has announced its plans to set up a semiconductor assembly and test plant in Gujarat and the total investment for this venture is estimated to be $2.75 billion.

The ICEA said that the phenomenal speed with which Micron investment has taken shape is a testimony to the tremendous success and the outcome-oriented state visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US.

“We believe that these constructive engagements will help India in ensuring deep manufacturing, greater value addition and seamless alignment with the global tech ecosystem,” said Mohindroo.

“This will give a major boost to our efforts to become a global hub for innovation and manufacturing,” he noted.