Smartphone majors write to state governments, seek ‘essentials’ tag
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This comes as India’s two largest online marketplaces, Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart, are said to be prodding multiple brands to persuade states with restrictions to allow home delivery, either through ecomm or from retail stores. This also includes products such as air-conditioners and refrigerators, three senior industry executives said.
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Sales of smartphones and electronic products have taken a hit due to Covid curbs, with some industry estimates putting it at a 20-30% decline till now in April, compared with March.
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Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Realme, Lava, Micromax, Wistron and Foxconn have written to various state governments, including Maharashtra and New Delhi, through their industry association, to classify smartphones, tablets, laptops and their components as essential goods.
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“UP has taken an excellent step of permitting industries to operate continuously even in the curfew period,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA).
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The UP government on Wednesday allowed all manufacturing units to continue operations even during weekend lockdowns and night curfews but asked them to strictly follow Covid-related protocols.
The move comes as a huge respite to UP’s electronics manufacturing industry, including mobile phones, televisions and most importantly the component makers, which run continuous processing units with 24-hour shifts.
“UP has taken an excellent step of permitting industries to operate continuously even in the curfew period,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA).
Handset makers may be forced to cut production as inventory starts piling up
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“Chances are there will be inventory issues due to dip in demand especially in May. Offline retailers are very cautious, especially when there is uncertainty of business operations amidst rising cases and possibility of partial lockdowns,” Tarun Pathak, associate director at Counterpoint Research, said.
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Handset makers may be forced to cut back on production in the coming weeks with inventory beginning to pile up as demand tapers owing to Covid restrictions and consumers put off purchases amid fears of economic challenges, industry executives and market experts say.
Updated Apr 12, 2021 | 11:41 IST
Out of the 16 participants in the PLI scheme, only one-Samsung- has achieved both production and investment target for the previous financial year. Representational image
New Delhi: The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has opposed allowing 15 of the 16 applicants to treat year 2021-22, instead of 20-21, as the first year for production targets under the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme targeted for smartphone manufacturing companies, the
Economic Times mentioned in a report.
Out of the 16 participants in the PLI scheme, only one-Samsung- has achieved both production and investment target for the previous financial year. MeitY has cited this as the reason for its decision.
South Koreas Samsung has met its targets for FY20-21, and the ministry has cited this as the reason for its decision. A senior government official said it cannot set one timeline for one company and another for the rest.