3. Building Self-reliance: Incentives and Economic Models for Manufacturing of Photonics and Electronics

The goal and pursuit of self-reliance has become crucial for the country's economic growth. Achieving self-sufficiency has become a strategic priority in the field of photonics and electronics, where global breakthroughs dictate the direction of innovation and economic progress. With an emphasis on the Indian context, this study examines the economic models, comparative analysis, and governmental motivations of self-sufficiency projects in photonics and electronics production. India is taking a multipronged approach to becoming a self-sufficient nation in photonics and electronics, starting with regulatory measures to encourage domestic manufacture. The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which offers financial incentives to stimulate manufacturing in key industries, is one of the many schemes and incentives the Indian government has introduced to support indigenous production industries, such as electronics. Furthermore, by providing subsidies, tax breaks, and infrastructure support, programs like the Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) program and the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) seek to establish an environment that is favorable for the production of electronics. For photonics and electronics to achieve self-sufficiency, economic models are essential. Leveraging economies of scale through strategic alliances between academia, industry, and government is one such paradigm. India can leverage its inventive capabilities and reservoir of technical talent to propel domestic production through cooperative research and development projects. Furthermore, implementing a phased manufacturing program might help local component manufacturers and lessen dependency on imports, as demonstrated by the manufacturing of mobile phones.