October continued to show positive trends across different manufacturing sectors in India. Spurred by the pandemic, robotic process automation (RPA) is on the rise with major OEMs and Tier 1 groups revamping manufacturing processes. Passenger vehicle sales are showing a strong recovery with a 30% month-over-month increase for October. Maruti Suzuki, the India market leader, delivered more than 95,000 vehicles in October, its best month in five years. The latest IMF projections predict India to be the fastest-growing large economy in the world in 2021 at 8.8%. For more intel and tidbits, read on.
CEOWorld Magazine’s 2020 survey ranked India as the fifth-best destination country for foreign direct investment (FDI).
The unemployment rate improved from 8.4% in August to 6.7% in September.
Earlier this year, we reported that the government announced major space sector reforms, allowing private companies to build and launch satellites using the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) know-how, resources, and facilities. This month, the Department of Space (DOS) further clarified that not only Indian private companies, but foreign companies, could avail themselves of the program and set up their facilities in India with direct investments without requiring a partnership with a local company.
Taiwan-based Foxlink, a major cable supplier to Apple, is setting up a new manufacturing plant in Chennai.
India-based Aequs, a world leader in precision manufacturing, is investing $500 million in Hubballi to develop a consumer electronics and durable goods cluster.
Samsung will start manufacturing TV sets, with sizes up to 65 inches, near Chennai in December 2020.
U.S.-based First Solar is planning a new solar equipment manufacturing plant in India. They already have an installed base of over 1.2 gigawatts of modules in India.
India-based Essar Group is planning to invest $5 billion in Gujarat for steel manufacturing with an annual capacity of 8 million tons.
India-based Dalmia Bharat will invest $275 million for a new cement plant in Karnataka.
Germany-based Siemens Healthineers will invest $175 million to establish their new innovation hub in Bangalore.
India-based Salcomp, a world leader in phone chargers, is reopening its factory near Chennai after being closed for six years. It will produce chargers for Nokia.
The Lamborghini-Kinetic Green joint venture is planning a new facility in Andhra Pradesh to produce electric golf carts, buggies, and tourism vehicles. The Lamborghini-branded cart would be a premium offering and will be solar and electric powered.
Motorola Mobility is in discussions with Indian device-makers Lava International and Dixon Technologies to manufacture up to $1 billion worth of mobile phones.
For more information, contact Arun Mahajan (AMahajan@AMTonline.org)
