Concerned departments may consider course correction if PLI scheme not picking up: DPIIT

New Delhi: Concerned departments where the production-linked incentive scheme is not picking up may consider some course correction in the plan, a top government official said on Tuesday.

Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajesh Kumar Singh said the concerned ministries have to see if PLI disbursement is low or if firms are not able to meet their performance thresholds, in such cases, sometime relaxations may be required like the way it has been done for the IT sector.

Last month, the government announced the PLI 2.0 for IT Hardware with a budgetary outlay of Rs 17,000 crore.

"We are hopeful of utilising Rs 1.97 lakh crore for the scheme...but in an individual scheme, there may be some course correction," Singh told reporters here.

The government has announced the PLI (production-linked incentive) scheme for as many as 14 sectors, such as telecommunication, white goods, textiles and pharma with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore.

The government has disbursed only Rs 2,900 crore till March 2023, out of Rs 3,400 crore claims received.

When asked about the reason for low disbursals, Additional Secretary in the DPIIT Rajeev Singh Thakur said that the next two years would be crucial.

"In eight sectors, we are disbursing the incentives and in the remaining six, we are hopeful (to start the disbursements). This year and next year, we will be on track," Thakur said.

On this, the secretary added that they are "not too" concerned about the lag in the incentives as investments are happening.

"We expect the disbursement to pick up...Projects are on the ground, and investments and employment are happening. The disbursement will follow...But yes, there is a lag," the secretary said.

The eight sectors where PLI performance is healthy include large-scale electronics manufacturing, pharma, food processing, telecom, white goods, auto and auto components.

Sectors which are not picking up well include high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell (ACC) batteries, textile products and speciality steel.

Further, the secretary said that proposals for extending fiscal benefits under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for toys, leather and footwear and components for new-age bicycles are in advanced stages.

Singh said they all are at different stages of consideration.

"Few of them are in the advanced stages like toy, leather and footwear, components for new age bicycles," he told reporters here.

In these 14 sectors, the government has received 733 applications as of March this year. In these sectors, 3.25 lakh jobs have been generated and goods worth Rs 2.6 lakh crore have been exported till 2022-23.

He also pointed out that Apple and its vendors are coming to India and "we want to follow" the success of this sector in other segments also.

Thakur said that in electronics and mobile manufacturing, value addition has been increased to 23 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively. It was negligible in 2014-15.

In China, the value addition is about 49 per cent and 18 per cent in Vietnam.

According to the department, mobile phones export from India has increased to Rs 90,000 crore during April-December 2022-23 against Rs 45,000 crore in 2021-22.

Out of the total mobile phone exports during 2022-23, 82 per cent were by the PLI companies.

iPhone 14 exports from India would touch USD 10 billion in 2024-25, according to a presentation by the department.

The additional secretary also informed that the government is getting a good amount as tax due to these investments.

"Our guess is that", the government would have collected about Rs 5 lakh crore as taxes and duties, Thakur said.