NEW DELHI: In a bid to boost the domestic manufacturing of batteries and electronics goods, govt has waived basic customs duty on goods used in manufacture of display assemblies, lithium ion cell and inductor coil module.Among the three notifications issued by the finance ministry was one to exempt the basic customs duty (BCD) on the goods used in the production of display assemblies for automotive, medical and industrial applications, as displays for cellular mobile phones, wearable devices, televisions and Interactive Flat Panel Displays, already enjoy concessional duty for their inputs.All the exemptions will be available till March 2029, the official notifications said. The Centre has been pushing domestic production of smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices to reduce the import bill as well as dependence on markets such as China, while boosting local manufacturing and jobs.While it had initially offered incentives for domestic production of smartphones, in recent months it has expanded the focus to components, for which a special scheme was launched, as well as the semiconductors, in a bid to create an ecosystem within the country.Separately, it is working to put in place a new scheme for smartphone production after the expiry of the production linked incentive scheme in March. Several govt departments, including the finance ministry, are seen to have been slow to agree to the proposals amid nervousness among foreign investors, who are eyeing the domestic as well as export market.Given the growth in electric vehicles and electronics, govt is also keen to step up focus on batteries, especially after the PLI turned out to be a failure.“By reducing the import cost of critical components and capital goods, these measures are expected to improve cost competitiveness, encourage greater domestic value addition, and support the localisation of high-value manufacturing in smartphones and other electronic products,” said Manoj Mishra, partner at consulting firm Grant Thornton Bharat.