The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) on Friday approved a 224.5-acre greenfield electronics manufacturing cluster in the Kotur and Belur Industrial Area of Karnataka’s Dharwad district, at a project cost of Rs 179.14 crore.
The government expects the cluster to bring investments worth over Rs 1,500 crore in the near future and create jobs for over 18,000 people. Nine companies, including some startups, have already committed to making investments of Rs 340 crore with an employment potential of 2,500 people.
This is the second EMC in Karnataka after the Centre in 2015 announced setting up a Common Facility Centre (CFC) for the development of an advanced electronic testing facility in Mysore, Karnataka to meet the various testing requirements of the industry. The project will target the production of industrial and consumer electronics, solar manufacturing, e-mobility products and components. The EMC is projected to operationalise in the next 24 months.
The Centre and the Karnataka government will set up the cluster in 50:50 partnership. MeitY has, under Software and Technology Parks of India (STPI), allotted total financial assistance of Rs 89 crore. Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) will implement the project.
The project is a part of the Centre’s modified Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC 2.0) scheme notified in April 2020, which aims to boost the electronics manufacturing AtmaNirbhar Bharat mission. So far, three EMCs over an area of 1,337 acres and with a project cost of Rs 1,903 crore including Central financial assistance of Rs 889 crore have been approved. The total projected investment under EMCs now stands at Rs 20,910 crore.
EMCs offer manufacturers facilities with the advanced infrastructure for electronics manufacturing. Some of the incentives include common testing facilities, ready-built factory sheds, plug-and-play infrastructure for attracting anchor units along with improved supply chains to set up their manufacturing facility in the country.
“Characterised by a strategic locational advantage, the newly approved EMC is well connected with NH-48 and just 33 km far from Hubli Domestic Airport. The approved processing area is 199.6 acres or 86.23 per cent of the total area,” MeitY while announcing the project.
