Home-grown consumer electronics and durables major Mirc Electronics Ltd, which owns the brand Onida, has put on hold its proposal to set up a ₹400-crore manufacturing facility in Maharashtra. The company has been allocated 100 acres where it planned to set up a plant to manufacture air-conditioners.

Gulu Mirchandani, Chairman and Managing Director of the company, who was here on Monday to launch a new range of air-conditioners, said, unless the policy changes, it will not be viable to manufacture within the country. “The present policy of allowing duty-free import of electronic goods and other consumer durables from some select countries does not encourage domestic manufacturing,” he said. A chunk of India’s imports consists of electronic goods.

More than 60-70 per cent of components in any electronic gadget are imported. Unless the government discourages duty-free import, and encourages the domestic manufacturers, the country’s dependence on import will grow dramatically in the years to come, he observed.

Onida imports its entire range of air-conditioners, particularly from China. Today, it launched a new range with various functional and design features, including ‘smart inverter’ range and fast-cool range. They sport price tags in the range of ₹23,000 to ₹65,000. Onida currently commands close to 10 per cent share of the market and hopes to garner 15 per cent by 2015.

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