Cabinet approves PLI scheme for 10 sectors worth Rs 1.46 lakh crore to boost manufacturing

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in 10 key sectors including pharmaceutical drugs and automobiles and auto components to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities and export.

The approved financial outlay for the ten sectors over five year period is Rs 1,45,980. Briefing the media after a meeting of union cabinet, Prakash Javadekar said that the PLI scheme will also help in creating jobs.

The ten sectors identified under the scheme are–Advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery (approved financial outlay over a five year period of Rs 18,100 crore), electronic/technology products (approved financial outlay Rs 5,000 crore), automobile and auto component (Rs 57,042 crore), pharmaceuticals and drugs (Rs 15,000 crore), telecom and networking products (12,195 crore), textile products (Rs 10,683 crore), food products (Rs 10,900 crore), high efficiency solar photovoltaic modules (Rs 4,500 crore), white goods (ACs and LEDs) (Rs 6,238 crore) and specialty steel (Rs 6,322 crore).

Javadekar said manufacturing is 16 per cent of GDP and needs to be enhanced.

“There has been a shortcoming that manufacturing is only 16 per cent of the GDP. We made many efforts to increase manufacturing but they weren’t very successful. The scheme will make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investment, and enhance exports. We want to produce global champions with the scheme,” he said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam said that the cabinet decided to create more PLIs to make sure job creation happens, sunrise sectors get a boost, India becomes part of the global value chain and becomes self-reliant.

“We are ensuring that India will be part of the global value chain and the critical sunrise sectors get the necessary support from the government so that we are able to build an India which is strong enough to service its own domestic market. We are also making sure that we are able to link up with the global value chains,” she said.

An official release said PLI scheme will be implemented by the concerned ministries/departments and will be within the overall financial limits prescribed. The final proposals of PLI for individual sectors will be appraised by the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) and approved by the Cabinet.

Savings, if any, from one PLI scheme of an approved sector can be utilized to fund that of another approved sector by the Empowered Group of Secretaries. Any new sector for PLI will require fresh approval of the Cabinet.

The new sectors will be in addition to the already notified PLI schemes in mobile manufacturing and specified electronic components, critical key starting materials/drug intermediaries and active pharmaceutical ingredients, and manufacturing of medical devices that have a total financial outlays of Rs 51,311.

The industry welcomed the government’s move.

“The sectors covered under the PLI scheme are strategic, technology-intensive and also important from the perspective of employment generation in the country. Indian economy offers a huge opportunity for these sectors not just from the domestic market perspective but also to make India an export hub for these products. We hope to hear about such progressive schemes for more sectors,” said Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry).