Govt Extends Electronics Manufacturing Scheme Application Deadline Till September

The Centre has extended the application window deadline for the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) till September 30.

Earlier, the deadline to submit applications under ECMS was July 31, 2025.

A notification by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said that the amendment was issued with the approval of IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Notably, the Centre has already received proposals worth INR 7,500 Cr to INR 8,000 Cr under the ECMS scheme.

Earlier, several reports suggested that the ministry is likely to approveprojects under the INR 22,919 Cr scheme by August-September.

The union cabinet approved this scheme on March 28, to focus on non semiconductor electronics components. It aims to attract an investment of INR 59,350 Cr, resulting in production of INR 4,56,500 Cr, and generating additional direct employment of 91,600 persons and many indirect jobs as well.

The tenure of the scheme is six years with one year of gestation period. Payout of a part of the incentive is also linked with employment targets achievement.

The Rare Earth Element Barrier

While the government is pushing the Make In India motto to enhance in-house manufacturing, the cross-border trade conflicts are making it difficult for Indian manufacturers to move ahead seamlessly.

Earlier this month, several companies under ECMS have flagged concerns over missing incentive targets for the first year due to a shortage of required resources. This comes on the back of China’s recent restrictions on the export of certain rare earth elements.

For context, for the first year under ECMS, the incentive payout is linked to specific targets including production value, capital expenditure and employment creation.

However, withChina banning the export of seven critical rare earth elements in response to Donald Trump’s 34% tariff announcement on Chinese imports in the US, Indian manufacturers may also face the heat.

India utilises rare earth metals in the manufacturing of EVs, conventional vehicles and consumer electronics, among others.

India’s Electronic Manufacturing Landscape

Talking about the development in this sector so far, India produced electronics goods worth INR 9.52 Lakh Cr in FY24, against INR 1.90 Lakh Cr in FY15.

As per the Economic Survey 2024-25, the country has also seen a sharp decline in dependence on smartphone imports, with 99% of them being manufacturedlocally.

Even in her budget speech for 2025-26, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government is looking to give a much-needed spur to the domestic electronics equipment industry.

Since then, there have been several developments in the sector. Last month, the Centre amended the special economic zones (SEZ) rulesto allow relaxations to semiconductors and electronics component manufacturing companies. Under this new notification, the minimum land requirement for setting up SEZ units has been reduced to 10 hectares from 50 hectares.

The relaxation will apply to several electronics and semiconductor-related products, including smart watches, earbuds, display module sub-assembly, li-ion cells for batteries, camera module sub-assembly, battery sub-assembly, various types of other module sub-assemblies, printed circuit board (PCBs) and mobile and information technology hardware components.

Earlier this month, Tata Electronics and German engineering giant Robert Bosch GmbH partnered to focus on semiconductor chip packaging and manufacturingat Tata Electronics’ planned facilities in Assam and Gujarat.

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