New Delhi, Oct. 3 -- The Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), launched by the government in April this year, has attracted investment commitments of over Rs.1.15 lakh crore, nearly twice the original target of Rs.59,350 crore, Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday."It's a historic number. Unprecedented applications have come in the ECMS. This shows that the global trust in India for electronic manufacturing is being converted into investments, production and employment," Vaishnaw said at a press briefing. On the Cabinet's ECMS outlay of Rs.22,919 crore being exceeded in the investment round, the government has said the scheme is limited by available funds. According to official data, the 249 applications received in the ECMS projected a production value of Rs.10.3 lakh crore, over twice the scheme's original target of Rs.4.56 lakh crore. The scheme is also likely to create around 141,000 jobs, compared to the initial target of 91,600.The ministry highlighted strong participation from medium and small manufacturing enterprises (MSMEs). "About 60% of applications are from MSME players, and that is very heartening," Vaishnaw said, adding that the next phase of India's electronics push will focus on manufacturing specialised materials used in components.Most components under the ECMS do not require rare earth elements, with only two applicant companies needing them for their products, he noted. "The basic idea here is to deepen the value chain in India and ensure that overall, the domestic value added component is substantially increased-at least double from the present," secretary, IT ministry, S Krishnan, said, and added that the goal is to integrate with global value chains in electronics....