Consumer Electronics and Durable Makers Need to go Global, Says Amitabh Kant

File photo of NITI Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant (Photo: CNN-News18)

New Delhi: Indian consumer electronics and durable makers need to expand their “size and scale” to be a part of the global supply chain, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.

The industry would have to be one of the key drivers of growth of the Indian economy, he added.

“India is growing around 7.5 percent… But the challenge is you need to grow at higher rates and the challenge is that we need to grow at higher rates over a longer period of time, three decades or more. It’s not possible to do it without appliances and consumer durable industry,” Kant said.

He was speaking at the annual function of the Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA).

Kant said the industry needs the “right ecosystem” to grow and be a part of the global market.

“If you have to grow, then you need a right ecosystem and the right ecosystem to my mind is that we are in a globalised world and in globalised world we must be a part of the global supply chain. You can never grow by thinking of the domestic customers only,” he said

Kant further said the government is dismantling several old rules and regulations, making them simpler for ease of doing business.

He also asked industry captains to “have the hunger and ambition to think in terms of size and scale”.

“You look at Japan, Korea and China… all these countries have done it on the back of global market penetration. The big bucks are there.

“Penetration in the export market is the key and you can never do it without size and scale and therefor whatever this industry does it must think size and scale,” he added.

During the event, CEAMA launched a report in association with consultancy firm PwC which said that the Indian appliance and consumer electronics (ACE) industry is expected to grow at 9 percent CAGR over the next five years.