Retain Import Duties on Smartphone Components: GTRI
印度智庫：建議政府持續對智慧手機零件徵收關稅
According to a GTRI report, the government shouldn’t cut import duties on electronic components used to make smartphones in the upcoming budget because the current tariff structure has already shown to be effective and modifying it might harm domestic production.
According to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), keeping tariffs at current levels will support long-term development in India’s expanding smartphone market while balancing industrial expansion.
The suggestion runs counter to the industry group India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), which claims that lowering import duties on parts for mobile phones can help strengthen domestic manufacturing, enhance exports, and raise domestic handset production by 28% to $82 billion.
小編點評：印度智庫「全球貿易研究計畫(GTRI)」的報告對政府可能在即將到來的預算中，減少智慧手機製造的電子零件進口稅的潛在決定，提出了截然不同的觀點。GTRI認為，保持現行的關稅結構對支持印度智慧手機市場的長期發展和確保產業擴張平衡發展至關重要。這種立場與印度手機與電子協會(ICEA)的觀點不同，ICEA主張降低手機零組件的進口稅。
Exports of electronics increased by a record 22% between April and December
電子產品出口量在4月至12月間成長22%
India’s electronics exports saw an impressive 22.24% growth in the first nine months of FY24, breaking the US$ 20 billion mark. Shipments of smartphones, led by Apple’s iPhone, increased significantly, which was the main cause of the spike. The India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) reports that from April to December 2023, mobile phone exports made up 52% of all electronics exports, or US$ 10.5 billion. By contrast, the value of electronics exported in FY23 was US$ 23.6 billion, of which US$ 11.1 billion, or 43%, came from mobile phones.
Notably, the significant increase in electronics and mobile exports during the current fiscal year can be attributed in large part to iPhones.
Exports of iPhones exceeded US$ 7 billion in December 2023, accounting for 35% of all electronics exports and a remarkable 70% of all mobile exports from the country in the nine months preceding December.
https://www.ibef.org/news/electronics-exports-grow-at-record-22-in-april-december
India’s first indigenous GenAI ‘BharatGPT’ launched
印度生成式AI「BharatGPT」正式推出
BharatGPT, India’s first Large Language Model (LLM), was unveiled by CoRover.ai with the goal of revolutionizing AI conversations in 22 Indian languages. BharatGPT, positioned as an Indigenous Generative AI platform, is claimed by CoRover.ai to interface with both speech and text modalities, providing a distinctive answer to language diversity issues.
Thanks to the partnership with the National Hub of Language Technology (NHLT) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s National Language Translation Mission (NLTM), the model claims integration for voice modality in over 12 Indian languages and text modality in 22 languages.
The CEO of BHASHNI, Amitabh Nag, emphasised the scalability and innovative use cases that were showcased in partnership with CoRover. He said that language tech innovations that leverage AI, ML, and NLP, like BharatGPT, would continue to drive new projects.
https://www.cnbctv18.com/business/coroverai-unveils-bharatgpt-genai-as-a-service-18862941.htm
小編點評：印度AI新創CoRover.ai推出了BharatGPT，這是印度首個大型語言模型（LLM），旨在支援22種印度語言的AI對話。 BharatGPT被定位為本土生成式AI平台，支援語音和文本模式。通過與國家語言技術中心的合作，它在超過12種印度語言中整合了語音模式，並在22種語言中整合了文本模式，為語言多樣性解決方案做出貢獻。
Kerala, Karnataka, and Gujarat excel in startup ranking
喀拉拉邦、卡納塔卡邦、古吉拉特邦的新創排名提升
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, and Karnataka were the top-performing states with a population of more than ten million. Of the states with less than 10 million people, Himachal Pradesh was adjudged the best.
As the number of unicorns has increased to 112 with a collective valuation of $350.71 billion, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stated on Tuesday that startups are essential to India’s goal of becoming a developed country by 2047.
According to figures from the commerce ministry until December 31, the number of registered start-ups in India increased to 117,254 across 57 business groups, with at least one woman director in 48% of them.
Samsung not to get incentive for smartphone production in FY22
三星在印度2022財政年度的智能手機產量無法獲得PLI補助
According to reports, Samsung is unlikely to get production-linked incentives (PLI) for making smartphones in the scheme’s second year (fiscal 2022) since the South Korean electronics giant failed production targets.
However, the company stated that it has met its targets for that period and is currently in the process of making claims for the third year (FY23).
Hence, Samsung would lose incentives for FY22 that might have reached around ‘900 crore. Additionally, the development suggests that the corporation will only receive cashbacks for four years rather than the possible five years under the scheme.
小編點評：根據報導，由於未能達到生產目標，三星據稱在印度2022財政年度的智能手機製造中無法獲得生產相關激勵補助（PLI）。雖然公司聲稱已完成該期間的目標，並且正在申請第三年（FY23）的補助，但這一挫折意味著三星可能在FY22失去約90億盧比的補助。此次發展還暗示，根據PLI計劃，三星可能只能在四年內獲得現金回扣，而不是預期的五年。
Foxconn and HCL Group of India to partner for a chip testing plant
富士康將與印商HCL集團合資建立晶片組裝和測試廠
HCL Group and Taiwan’s Foxconn, opens new tab, will collaborate to build a semiconductor assembly and testing facility in India, the firms announced on Thursday.
The companies plan to establish an Outsourced Assembly and Testing (OSAT) facility in the South Asias nation.
An OSAT plant packages, assembles and tests foundry-made silicon wafers, turning them into finished semiconductor chips.
With an investment of $37.2 million, Foxconn’s India division will hold a 40% share in the joint venture, according to a regulatory filing. HCL withheld their own financial details.
小編點評：台灣跨國電子代工製造商富士康將與印度的HCL集團合作，建立一家晶片組裝和測試廠。這一戰略合作旨在應對半導體測試的不斷增長需求，並為印度在加強其電子製造生態系統方面做出貢獻。