Electronic components exports double in last five years
The
export of electronic components has registered a growth of 200 per cent
between 1997-98 and 2002-03, according to the Electronics and Computer
Software Export Promotion Council (ESC). Electronics exports have touched
Rs 2,400 crore. Exports have grown by 24.57 per cent annually between
1997-98 and 2002-03. According to ESC estimates, EU countries were the
largest destination for electronic component exports during 2002-03,
accounting for 42 per cent of the total exports. India exported electronic
components worth Rs 1,002 crore in 2002-03 compared with Rs 676 crore
in the previous year, registering an increase of 48 per cent in the
value of goods exported. The other export destinations for these goods
were Singapore, Hong Kong and neighbouring countries, with a total export
turnover of Rs 562 crore. Major items that are being exported to various
destinations include recordable compact discs, solar cells, colour picture
tubes, printed circuit boards, connectors, transformers for electronic
equipment and resistors.
Pre-Budget
comes as a boon to IT manufacturing
Finance Minister Jaswant Singh unveiled a slew of incentives for the
manufacturing sector, in the pre- Budget session held on January 7,
2004. Manufacturing companies in the automobile, consumer durables and
IT hardware industries are specific beneficiaries. Peak customs duty
on all non-agricultural goods has been cut from 25 to 20 per cent, and
the 4 per cent special additional customs duty (SAD) on goods imported
by manufacturers has been scrapped. The vendors are hopeful that the
pre-Budget concessions will provide a tremendous boost to the IT and
electronic manufacturing sector. Now that the customs duties have been
brought down so that inputs become cheaper for the manufacturing industry,
imported capital goods will be cheaper too. Capital goods imports have
been made cheaper in general because of a reduction in the peak rate,
abolition of the SAD and a reduction of duty on project imports from
25 to 10 per cent where the investment is more than Rs 5 crore and on
the capital goods for the manufacture of electronic goods. According
to industry officials, the reduction in duties would lead to the development
of a strong IT component industry in India, which will provide the foundation
for IT products to be manufactured in India.
Hyundai
Motor sets eyes on the magic million
Hyundai Motor India (HMIL), achieved yet another milestone in the financial
year 2002-03, by rolling out its 500,000th vehicle from its manufacturing
facility at Irungattukottai. Hyundai has achieved this landmark in a
record time of just over 60 months since commencement of sales in October
1998. JI Kim, Managing Director, HMIL said the company’s next phase
of growth would be more aggressive and global in scale, as it gears
to emerge as one of the largest exporters out of India for small cars
and auto components. By 2006, the company expects to surpass the one
million units mark in passenger car sales and emerge as a percentage
contributor to Hyundai’s worldwide operations. With demand for its cars
growing in both the domestic and export markets, HMIL is setting up
new capacities to expand its production to 2.5 lakh units from the current
level of 1.5 lakh units, by mid 2004. BVR Subbu, President, HMIL said
the company was expected to hit the export target of 30,000 vehicles
this year, making it the largest manufacturer and exporter of cars from
India. He also indicated that exports are likely to go up by 25 to 30
per cent by 2006 from the current level of around 9 to 13 per cent.
Maruti’s
Gurgaon facility to be Suzuki’s Asian hub
Maruti
Udyog’s research and development facility will become Japanese auto
major Suzuki’s Asian hub by 2007 for the design and development of new
compact cars, said a top official of the firm. As India’s largest carmaker,
Maruti will be investing substantially in upgrading its research and
development centre at Gurgaon in Haryana for executing design and development
projects for Suzuki, including localisation, modernisation and greater
use of composite technologies in upcoming models. Arvind Saxena, General
Manager, Maruti Udyog said that the parent company had decided to shift
its new projects from Japan to India and other Asian countries to leverage
research and development, local talent and to capitalise on the lower
cost advantage. With a view to turning the Maruti research and development
centre into Suzuki’s hub outside Japan, the company is sending its design
and engineering teams in batches to Japan for intensive training and
adaptation.
Indian
vehicles exports soar up by 55.8%, charm overseas buyers
Exports
of Indian vehicles soared by 55.8 per cent during the first eight months
of the financial year 2003 as cars, commercial vehicles and two-wheelers
continued to charm overseas buyers. A total of 2.93 lakh vehicles were
shipped during April-November 2003 over 1.88 lakh units in the same
period last year, according to data compiled by the Society of Indian
Automobile Manufacturers. Car exports surged by 69 per cent to 72,535
units with the largest exporter, Maruti Udyog, posting a 72.8 per cent
growth to 30,749 units. Exports of commercial vehicles grew by 25.2
per cent to 9,418 units. While exports of medium and heavy vehicles
went up by 26.5 per cent to 4,286 units, light commercial vehicle exports
jumped 24.2 per cent to 5,132 units. Two-wheeler exports rose by 50
per cent to 1.63 lakh units, as motorcycles clocked a 50 per cent rise
at 1.17 lakh units. Utility vehicle exports went up by 183.3 per cent
to 2,077 units, with Tata Motors clocking a 365.5 per cent rise at 1,499
units.
Reva
gets export approval from European Union
India’s first electric car has received certification from the European
Union for export to the continent starting in January 2004, the Reva
Electric Car Company said recently. The two-door, battery-operated car
was launched two years ago after seven years of research. Reva claims
that cost-effective manufacturing in India has helped the company build
the car’s software and hardware components cheaply and price it aggressively.
The car is targeting an annual market of about 100,000 small environment-friendly
cars for city commuters in Europe, according to the Managing Director,
Chetan Maini. Five hundred Reva cars will be sold in Britain in the
first year under a local brand name – G-WIZ. The company expects to
sell about 5,000 cars in Europe in three to four years on a conservative
estimate, he added. With congestion taxes and parking costs adding to
the bills of European customers, electric cars are expected to have
a sound future, revealed Mr Maini. Reva is already sold in Nepal and
Malta and has also been tested in China, Hong Kong, the United States
and Switzerland.
Consumer
durables index up 27% in December
Mumbai’s Consumer Durables index has emerged as the top gainer among
the sectoral indices in December, 2003. Shooting up 27 per cent since
its close in November, the index has overshadowed all other sectoral
indices on the exchange, which have gained 11-19 per cent during the
period. The gains in the consumer durables index in December have been
the highest in any month in the current financial year, as the index
closed at 1,462.5 points on December 26, 2003. The index has returned
almost 100 per cent from 731.89 points on March 31, 2003. This is lower
only to the capital goods and Public Sector Units indices, which witnessed
a sharp surge in May, August and December during 2003. Mirc Electronics,
Electrolux Kelvinator, Samtel Color, Titan Industries, Whirlpool and
Su-Raj Diamonds, which are a part of the index, have surged by 20-66
per cent in December.
Auto
parts testing unit to open in Jamshedpur
Small Industries Service Institute (SISI), a wing of the Union Small
Scale Industries Ministry, may open an auto component testing unit at
the Adityapur Industrial Area (AIA) in Jamshedpur, which houses over
500 units. NP Naidu, Assistant Director, SISI, said that the Union Government
might provide a grant of Rs 50 lakh for the lab. A report prepared by
the SISI on AIA noted that most auto component manufacturing units made
items according to specifications issued by Tata Motors. The auto component
testing unit would lead to the development of components which could
be sold to customers other than Tata Motors. The AIA authority or the
State Government would have to apply to the Centre for the grant.
