India wants to be a dominant player when it comes to repairing electronic goods, as the government flagged off a pilot program for electronics repair services in order to grow the sector’s outsourcing industry.
Currently, India is the world's biggest smartphone market and in addition to that the country is loaded with millions of purchases for laptops, wearables, television and others. The program is set to launch in Bengaluru for 3 months on a trial basis.
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“Five companies, namely Flex, Lenovo, CTDI, R-Logic, and Aforeserve have volunteered for the pilot. Post the pilot a detailed assessment will be carried out and modifications made in the process and policy as necessary,” the IT ministry said.
The government with this program aims at building the electronics repair services for not just the Indian market but also for the services to be exported globally. As per the Manufacturer’s Association of Information Technology (MAIT) report, the sector is to generate revenues of $20 billion yearly in the next four years.
The sector is speculated to become the fastest growing and eventually the largest industry across the globe. Hence, the program aims at grabbing hold over 20% of the global electronics repair industry.
This is expected to be achieved through relaxations on e-waste rules and customs. In addition, giving permission to companies to repair electronics and telecom devices from other regions.
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Currently, India’s revenue from the electronics repair services is approximately $350 million. It is speculated that within five years with the ERSO scheme India aims to hold 20% of the market which is currently worth $125 billion.
According to reports, the electronics repair market is projected to grow to $241.79 billion by 2032 with a CAGR of 6.82% growth for the period 2023 to 2032 and the Asia Pacific region is projected to have the highest growth. This is an awesome opportunity for India to create a global expertise in.
With the increasing use of refurbished gadgets the market for automated repair systems has also taken a flight and it is predicted that home appliances/consumer electronics would be the largest product market in coming years and currently out-of-warranty repairs dominate the market and may continue to.
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Currently, Europe holds the highest share, of 27%, in the electronics repair market next to North America and the United States. However, China, India and the UK are expected to have the highest CAGR growth 11.8%, 10.5% and 6.1% respectively.