The industry on Monday applauded the government's commitment to strengthening India's manufacturing sector through the disbursement of Rs 14,020 crore under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme across multiple sectors, driving sales of Rs 14 lakh crore.

The Centre has disbursed incentives to the tune of Rs. 14020 crore under its PLI schemes for promoting manufacturing in 10 sectors including large-scale electronics manufacturing, IT hardware, bulk drugs, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, telecom products, food processing, white goods, automobiles and drones, according to figures compiled by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The PLI schemes — being implemented keeping in view India's vision of becoming ‘Atmanirbhar’ across 14 key sectors — has succeeded in attracting investment of an impressive Rs 1.6 lakh crore.

“This initiative is a major step toward job creation, the expansion of India's manufacturing ecosystem and exports, in electronics and semiconductors. Looking ahead, we anticipate accelerated growth in the Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector, fostering innovation, supply chain resilience, and positioning India as a global hub for high-value electronics production,” said Ashok Chandak, President of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA).

The current momentum, coupled with the upcoming Semicon India Programme V2.0 and the PLI scheme for electronic components, will drive a targeted strategy to achieve a $500 billion electronics market and meet the projected $103 billion semiconductor demand with significant value addition, he added.

These schemes have incentivised domestic manufacturing, leading to increased production, job creation, and a boost in exports. They have also attracted significant investments from both domestic and foreign players.

As on date, 764 applications have been approved under PLI Schemes for 14 key sectors. 176 MSMEs are among the PLI beneficiaries in sectors such as Bulk Drugs, Medical Devices, Pharma, Telecom, White Goods, Food Processing, Textiles and Drones, according to an official statement.

Actual investment of around Rs 1.61 lakh crore ($18.72 billion) has been reported till November 2024 which has generated production of around Rs 14 lakh crore (around $162.84 billion) against targets of 15.52 lakh crore up to FY 2024-25 and employment of over 11.5 lakhs (both direct and indirect).

PLI schemes have transformed India’s exports basket from traditional commodities to high value-added products such as electronics and telecommunication goods, processed food products etc. PLI Schemes have witnessed exports surpassing Rs 5.31 lakh crore (around $61.76 billion), with significant contributions from sectors such as Large-Scale Electronics Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Food Processing, and Telecom and Networking products.

Individual cases have been approved over a period of time, through a transparent mechanism. Projects are implemented over a period of time ranging from 2 years to 3 years, depending on the nature of manufacturing and claims are usually made after 1st year of production. Hence, most of the projects are at implementation stage and will be filing incentive claims in due course.