With a view to boost its business, Panasonic India - manufacturer of Consumer Durables, is eyeing to set up its first manufacturing unit in India.

In this regard, the company has shortlisted 3 locations for the upcoming factory - Chennai, Pune and Gurgaon.

The Panasonic India, has set a time frame of 3 years for its operations in the country and for which it has set an investment of around Rs. 1,450 crore - where Rs. 360 crore to be spent on setting up its first manufacturing unit and also a Research & Development (R&D) centre.

Its manufacturing unit will mainly produce Home Appliances - washing machines, refrigerators, microwave ovens, automatic cookers, vacuum cleaners and liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions. The rest of its products will continue to be imported.

The company source has pointed out that the manufacturing unit would be exempted from paying custom duties which will have a considerable impact on the bottom line of the company and will result to a minimum of 5 % reduction in the prices of the products which are currently sold with a price-tag between Rs 6,000 and Rs 25 lakh.

For the last 14 years, the Panasonic is running its operations in India, longer time than its competitors, like LG and Samsung. But in 2008, the company had undergone a renewal of sorts, where it began to focus more on branding and consolidation of the distribution system.

The company's decision to set its own manufacturing unit is being made to strengthen its situation in the Indian market, making the competition more aggressive.

Meanwhile, Panasonic India is planning to focus on selling solar devices like rechargeable batteries, which are made by Sanyo Electric Co., in which its Japanese parent Panasonic Corp. plans to acquire a controlling stake for the equivalent of $4.6 billion.

Panasonic India is also working on developing a special line of products for the rural markets.

Moreover, Panasonic is consolidating its operations in India by bringing all its existing arms under one entity-Panasonic India Pvt. Ltd.