Electrical equipment sector charts 3-pronged plan for global scale, export boost

The Indian electrical and allied electronics equipment industry has identified three key areas for future growth as also to boost exports with a strong global flavour.

The industry seeks to improve on quality, safety, and reliability of the products that it produces, grow the export pie and be part of the global supply chain and innovate in emerging technologies suited for both India and overseas.

“Our industry is now at the centre of the transition from a fossilised economy to a clean economy in India and globally. After China being the factory of the world in the past 20 years, it is increasingly clear now that the developed economies believe in the China+1 strategy and nobody offers the scale that India offers. India is where the action is. So, our industry has also chalked out growth plans accordingly,” Rohit Pathak, President, The Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA) told businessline.

Great opportunity

At present, the Indian electrical and allied electronics equipment industry is estimated at $40-50 billion. There is a great opportunity for us to develop solutions not just for India, but also for the world, Pathak said. India has all capabilities to be the beneficiary of China+1 outcomes, the industry believes.

“We may not have scale today, as we are not so much focused on global markets. But if we can create the scale of large exports in this decade, we will be able to position ourselves in the global supply chain for electricity-related equipment. We have only a couple of years to plug in the gaps to be part of the global supply chain otherwise some other country will fill that place,” he said.

Key focus areas

The Indian electrical and allied electronics equipment industry has taken up quality as one of the key focus areas as the bar for quality in export markets is very different from what is required in the domestic market.

The  industry exports about $8-10 billion worth of goods now. “In exports, we do only 1/10th of the potential that we have. The opportunity to export to the U.S. and U.K. is significant. We can get to the quality of what these markets require and serve them better than others, said Pathak.