Page 13 - Banking Finance October 2020

ROUNDUP

Industry News

16 companies get Govern- significant manner and grow into na- While eight of these universities are
tional champion companies" in mobile from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi has seven,
ment nod for mobile phone production. Another six compa- and Odisha and West Bengal two each.

manufacture booster plan nies that got the approval under 'speci- Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra,
Around 16 companies, including four fied electronic components' segment Puducherry and Maharashtra have one
top suppliers of US giant Apple, South include AT&S, Ascent Circuits, Visicon, such fake university each.
Korean Samsung and five domestic Walsin, Sahasra, and Neolync.
makers, have been chosen by the gov- "Over the next 5 years, the approved 500 million jobs lost, glo-
ernment for its ambitious Rs 41,000- companies under the PLI scheme are
crore production-linked incentive (PLI) expected to lead to total production of bal economy losing $375
scheme that aims to make India a more than Rs 10.5 lakh crore… The billion a month to covid:
mobile-manufacturing hub. companies are also expected to pro-
The scheme extends an incentive of 4- mote exports significantly. Out of the UN
6% on incremental sales to the com- total production, around 60% will be The current pandemic is costing the
panies, which would enable them to contributed by exports at Rs 6.5 lakh global economy $375 billion a month,
make fresh investments as well as look crore," the government said. and has seen some 500 million jobs lost
at higher revenue from the domestic since the crisis struck, the United Na-
market as well as exports. tions said in a policy brief.
UGC declares 24 universi-
The international mobile phone manu- The policy brief--Covid-19 and Univer-
facturing companies that are approved ties as fake sal Health Coverage--said the pan-
under the plan are Samsung and The University Grants Commission demic has shown that effective epi-
Apple's suppliers such as Foxconn Hon (UGC) recently announced a list of 24 demic control benefits economy while
Hai, Rising Star, Wistron and Pegatron. "self-styled, unrecognised institutions" exposing the risks of financing health
Apart from Apple, the companies also in the country, terming them as "fake" coverage primarily through wage-
manufacture mobile devices for other with the maximum of them operating based contributions. In the context of
makers. from Uttar Pradesh followed by Delhi. a global economic crisis where unem-
ployment increases, and where en-
Indian companies that have made the "Students and public are informed that
cut are Lava, Bhagwati (Micromax), currently 24 self-styled, unrecognised titlement to services is linked to such
Optiemus Electronics, Padget Electron- institutions are functioning in contraven- contributions, access to health services
ics (a unit of Dixon), and UTL Neolyncs. tion of the UGC Act, which have been is reduced at the time people need it
The government said that it expects declared as fake universities and these the most.
the homegrown makers to expand are not empowered to confer any de- UN Secretary-General António
their manufacturing operations "in a gree," UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain said. Guterres, while launching the policy

BANKING FINANCE | OCTOBER | 2020 | 13