India's 1st Telecom Manufacturing Zone to come up in Gwalior; Rs 2,000 cr investment, 4,500 jobs in first phase
New Delhi, July 30
India on Thursday signed an agreement to set up the country's first Telecom Manufacturing Zone in Gwalior, with the Centre expecting investments of Rs 2,000 crore and creation of over 4,500 jobs in the first phase, while targeting investments of at least Rs 10,000 crore in the next stage.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Madhya Pradesh government's Industries Department in the presence of Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Minister of State for Communications Chandrashekhar Pemmasani.
"Today is a historic day for the telecom sector, Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior, and the entire nation... Today alone, investments worth Rs 2,000 crore have been finalised, and 4,500 job opportunities will be created. However, our goal extends far beyond this. We aim for investments of at least Rs 10,000 crore in the next stage," Scindia told reporters on the sidelines of the event.
According to an official release, the Telecom Manufacturing Zone will be developed over nearly 350 acres on a plug-and-play model, with the Centre providing Rs 500 crore as 100 per cent financial assistance for infrastructure development in the first phase.
"It will feature a 'plug-and-play' system where the Government of India will set up comprehensive infrastructure and testing capabilities," Scindia said.
The integrated manufacturing hub will support research, design, testing and production of mobile phones, telecom network equipment, fibre optics, semiconductors, and 5G and 6G technologies.
The official release said companies including Dixon Technologies, HFCL and Tejas Networks are among the anchor investors in the first phase. Overall, the project is expected to attract up to Rs 9,000 crore in investment and generate more than 10,000 long-term jobs.
Speaking at the event, Minister of State for Communications Chandrashekhar Pemmasani said the zone is aimed at strengthening India's telecom manufacturing ecosystem beyond assembly.
"Only 20 per cent of the components that go inside the phone are manufactured in India... We don't want to be an assembly line country. We want to have design labs. We want to have patents. We want to have intellectual property," Pemmasani said.
Scindia said the first phase would be completed over the next three years, after which work on the second phase would begin.
"Our first phase spans the next three years... Simultaneously, we will initiate the second phase. This will be a continuous process, building upon the infrastructure already established in Gwalior," he said.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Interesting news. Dixon and Tejas Networks are solid names to start with. But Rs 2,000 cr for 4,500 jobs seems like decent ROI. However, I'm curious about the sustainability - will these be long-term manufacturing roles or temporary construction jobs?
Finally some concrete steps towards Atmanirbhar Bharat in telecom! Only 20% components made in India currently is shocking. We need more such zones across states. But Rs 500 cr from Centre for infrastructure - will that be enough for 350 acres of plug-and-play facilities? Time will tell.
This is a step in the right direction, but I'm a bit skeptical about the "plug-and-play" model. We've seen similar promises before with other manufacturing zones. Need to ensure execution is fast-tracked and not delayed by bureaucracy. The 3-year timeline for phase 1 seems ambitious.
Wow! Gwalior becoming a telecom hub! 🎉 As a Madhya Pradesh native, this feels awesome. Scindia ji delivering for his home region. 5G/6G technology and semiconductors manufacturing in central India - this will reduce our dependence on imports. Hope local youth get preference in hiring.
Good news for Make in India. But I have a concern - only 20% components made locally? That's a huge gap. While this zone is a positive start, we need more focus on component ecosystem, not just phone assembly. Design labs and patents are good targets but need skilled workforce too.
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