What exactly is a Production-Linked Incentive Program?
The central government unveiled a program in March of this year that aims to provide incentives to businesses on incremental sales from goods produced in local units in an effort to increase domestic manufacturing and reduce import costs. The program attempts to encourage local businesses to establish new manufacturing units or expand already existing ones in addition to enticing foreign businesses to locate in India. The program has so far been implemented for the manufacture of medical devices, pharmaceutical substances, and mobile and related equipment. The goal is that these labour-intensive industries will provide new jobs for India’s rapidly expanding employable population.
What is the Need of Production-Linked Incentive Program?
Experts claim that the PLI concept is crucial since the government cannot continue to invest in these capital-intensive industries because the rewards take longer to materialize. It can invite international businesses with sufficient capital to establish capacities in India instead.
Companies Which Gave Applications for the PLI Scheme
31 companies are currently producing telecom equipment under the program, according to the DoT. 32 businesses in total—22 MSMEs and 5 non-MSME domestic and international—have filed proposals. 17 of them have submitted applications to be design-led manufacturers. The fact that 18 new companies have applied is encouraging, according to a statement from DoT. The program was introduced in 2021. Design-led PLI was introduced in June 2022 with the goal of promoting the whole value chain in telecom manufacturing. In addition to the current incentives for items designed in India, it offered additional incentives of 1%. It added that out of the total amount of Rs 12,195 crore, about 4,000 crore was set aside to give incentives to the producers. From June 21 until August 25, 2022, the application window was open. According to the statement, “India is positioned to become a design and manufacturing centre for telecom and networking equipment.”
