PLI incentive disbursement falls short of target

New Delhi: Out of the approved incentive outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore and a target of Rs 11,000 crore for the current financial year, actual disbursement under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme is just Rs 4,415 crore, as per data shared by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Wednesday.  

Talking to reporters, DPIIT Additional Secretary Rajeev Singh Thakur said incentive amounts have been released to eligible companies belonging to eight sectors. The PLI scheme has been extended to 14 sectors. So there is no disbursal of any incentive amount to companies belonging to six sectors.

On the reason for disbursal of incentive amount only to eight sectors so far, Thakur said it is because the PLI scheme has been implemented for different sectors at different points of time.  

Sectors in which companies have received the incentives include large-scale electronics manufacturing, IT hardware, bulk drugs, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, telecom & networking products, food processing and drones & drone components.

The PLI scheme was rolled out in March 2020. In the first round, three sectors – manufacturing of mobile components, pharma ingredients and medical devices – received the benefits. In the union budget 2021-22, the government announced an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore ($26 billion) for the scheme.

Despite the slow progress in incentive disbursal, DPIIT Additional Secretary Thakur expressed hope that the announced outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore will be utilised. “Investment and production are on track. We are satisfied that these will work out and the Rs 1.97 lakh crore outlay for the PLI scheme will be used,” he added.

According to data shared by the DPIIT, the PLI scheme has attracted over Rs 1.03 lakh crore of investment, which has led to Rs 8.61 lakh crore of production and creation of 6.78 lakh jobs. The scheme has also impacted the country’s exports significantly. It has resulted in exports of over Rs 3.20 lakh crore.

Large-scale electronics manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food processing, and telecom & networking products sectors are among the best performers among the 14 sectors to which the PLI scheme has been extended.

Manufacturing of various electronic components like battery, chargers, PCBA, PCB, camera modules, passive components and certain mechanics have been localised in the country.

PLI beneficiaries account for 20 per cent of the market share only, however, have contributed to 82 per cent mobile phones exports during FY 2022-23. Production of mobile phones increased by more than 125 per cent and export of mobile phones increased 4 times since FY 2020-21. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 254 per cent since the inception of the PLI scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing, DPIIT data showed.