Bhubaneswar, Jun 19 (IANS): The demand for light emitting diode (LED) lighting in India is expected to grow by about 40 percent per annum over the next five years, lighting solutions manufacturer NTL Lemnis said Wednesday.

"I personally feel the LED market (in India) would grow by about 40 percent year-on-year basis at least for the next five year," global chief executive officer of NTL Lemnis Arun Gupta told IANS in an interview.

The size of the current lighting market in India stands at around Rs.96 billion and the LED lighting industry's share is around Rs.10 billion, he added.

According to the Association of Electrical Lighting Manufacturers in India (ELCOMA), the lighting industry in the country has been growing at nearly 17-18 percent annually over the past two-three years.

Although the overall lighting market growth is going to be slower, the LED lighting market offers very high growth opportunity, Gupta said.

The LED Industry is expected to touch around $500 million by 2015 in India. Within the segment, the demand for LED street lights and LED solar lights is expected to grow rapidly in coming years, Gupta said.

Set up in 2012, NTL Lemnis is a joint venture company between NTL Electronics India and Lemnis Lighting, the Netherlands.

NTL Electronics India Ltd. is considered as one of the largest manufacturers of lighting electronics in the world outside China. It has an annual turnover of Rs.675 crore (2012-2013).

Although households still prefer compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), the demand for LED lighting is increasingly rising in the commercial segment.

The mining industry is expected to contribute to the growth of LED lighting in the coming years, according to the NTL Lemnis global CEO.

The Indian LED lighting industry is likely to grow in the range of Rs.8,000-12,000 crore in the next five years, and NTL Lemnis is eyeing to capture a five percent market share, he said.

According to a report by global consulting firm McKinsey, 70 percent of lighting in the world would be LED based by 2020.

Currently, the number of LED buyers in the general lighting segment is low owing to high costs of such systems but the situation is changing rapidly, Gupta said.