The flagship Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme of the Central government has attracted over ₹1.03 lakh crore of investment till November 2023, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has stated.

Committed investments across 14 sectors where PLI schemes are operational exceed ₹3 lakh crore, the ministry said.

In its update on PLI, the ministry says PLI schemes have led to the production of goods worth ₹8.61 lakh crore (including ₹3.2 lakh crore worth of exports) and a direct and indirect employment generation of over 6.78 lakh. The exports were led by sectors such as large-scale electronics manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food processing, and telecom & networking products.

According to a senior ministry official, 746 PLI applications have been approved across sectors so far. Among the PLI beneficiaries, 176 are medium and small-scale enterprises that serve as investment partners or contract manufacturers of bigger entities. The sectors with MSME presence include bulk drugs, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, telecom, white goods, food processing, textiles & drones.

The ministry informed that an incentive amount of around ₹4,415 crore has been disbursed under PLI schemes for 8 sectors viz. large-scale electronics manufacturing (LSEM), IT hardware, bulk drugs, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, telecom & networking products, food processing and drones & drone components.

The biggest impact of the PLI scheme is seen in mobile phone manufacturing as PLI beneficiaries, which account for about 20% of the market share only, have contributed to about 82% of mobile phone exports during FY 2022-23. The sale of telecom & networking products by PLI beneficiary companies in FY 2023-24 increased by 370% vis-a-vis base year (FY 2019-20). “Production of mobile phones increased by more than 125% and export of mobile phones increased about times since FY 2020-21. Foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by about 254% since the inception of the PLI scheme for LSEM,” the ministry stated.

The government claims the farmers and MSMEs have benefited from the PLI scheme for food processing as sourcing of raw materials from India has seen a significant increase. “Sales of organic products increased and Indian brand visibility enhanced in the international market. The scheme has also led to increased millet procurement – from 668 MT (FY 20-21) to 3,703 MT (FY 22-23),” the ministry explains.

The PLI schemes for 14 key sectors have a cumulative incentive outlay of ₹1.97 lakh crore (over $26 billion).

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