Global firms must tap local display manufacturing opportunities in India: Industry leaders

New Delhi, May 28: India is set for a significant leap in local manufacturing of displays which presents a golden opportunity for global companies seeking to diversify their display supply chains beyond certain geographies, industry leaders said on Tuesday. The Indian market’s demand potential for displays is likely to rise to $60 billion by 2025.

The domestic display manufacturing industry is projected to grow at a booming 29.5 percent CAGR due to the expected surge in the local manufacturing of mobile phones, TVs and IT hardware products.

We have an excellent 50 per cent capex support on pari-passu (equal footing) basis as offered by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), further supplemented by the state governments, but we have not been able to break ground beyond display assembly, said Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA).

Display has a major 15-20 percent position in the Bill of Material (BoM) which is close to the other logic, memory and other semi conductors. It’s a matter of great concern, said Mohindroo. Despite being the world's third largest consumer of display products (accounting for 7 percent of global revenue), the nation currently has insignificant domestic production.

This presents a unique opportunity for international companies seeking to diversify their display supply chains beyond certain geographies, thereby complementing the domestic demand and also export from India, the industry leaders mentioned.

For a robust display manufacturing ecosystem in the country, the AMOLED Research Center (ARC) has been set up at IIT-Madras that aims to develop next generation AMOLED displays for smartphones, tablets, watches and wearables. The national Centre of Excellence is funded by MeitY, DRDO and Tata Sons.

At the ‘SID Display Week’ in the US last week, S Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, addressed the forum virtually and highlighted fiscal support of 50 percent capex support on pari-passu basis by the government to set up display fabs in the country.

Harit Doshi, Secretary, Society of Information Display (SID) and CEO of Omniply Technologies, spoke about a conducive policy framework in India for international investors in the domain of display manufacturing ecosystem.

These targeted efforts aim to cultivate tangible investment opportunities and propel India to the forefront of display technology development, said Mohindroo.