Kolkata: The Vedanta Group’s $10 billion project to set up India’s first plant to make flat panel displays for televisions from scratch is likely to be scrapped after failing to obtain subsidies under the government’s Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS), two senior executives said. The ministry of electronics and IT had turned down the application for subsidies because it didn’t meet conditions, they said.

India currently imports TV display panels from China, Taiwan and South Korea, resulting in an estimated outflow of about $6 billion.

While the government is trying to promote localisation of TV panel manufacturing under the Make in India initiative, this was the only project at an advanced sta-ge of implementation. Some other proposals for making such displays are said to be under evaluation.

TV manufacturers undertake some end-stage assembly of panels imported in the open-cell state.

Vedanta Group company Twin Star Display Technologies was expecting a 25% capital subsidy and reimbursements of duties and taxes under M-SIPS, said the executives, who were earlier attached to the project. These incentives once approved were to be available for 10 years but without them the financial viability of the country’s largest electronics manufacturing investment was called into question.

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