Local hardware sector can create 4 lakh jobs: MAIT

The IT hardware sector can generate 4 lakh jobs over the next five years if the government rectifies the tax duty structure in the Budget to encourage manufacturing of products such as notebook and desktop personal computers in India, says a study by industry body MAIT.

“Measures of the Union Budget 2016-17 can potentially generate 4,00,000 jobs in the Indian IT manufacturing sector, if estimated demand for 30 million PCs per annum is fulfilled entirely through domestic production over the next five years,” MAIT Executive Director Anwar Shirpurwala said, while sharing details of the study. The total estimated jobs include 1 lakh direct employment and 3 lakh jobs in component manufacturing over the next five years, the study noted.

Policy reforms and plugging market ecosystem gaps can lead to doubling of IT hardware production in one year to $2.6 billion and make India become a global electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) supply hub, it added.

The study is based on data from some members of the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT), which includes chip-maker Intel, PC maker Lenovo and software giant Microsoft.