Cabinet To Approve Rs 25,000 Crore Semiconductors PLI Scheme, Rs 63,000 Crore City Bus Scheme: Reports

The government has so far allocated incentives worth Rs 1.97 lakh crore for various PLI schemes over five years to encourage domestic manufacturing 

The Centre is likely to give approval to a list of schemes on Wednesday's Cabinet meeting, including a Rs 25,000-crore scheme for semiconductor manufacturing, the City Bus Augmentation scheme worth Rs 62,000-63,000 crore to boost public transport in 169 cities, and the PM-PRANAM scheme that was announced in Budget 2023. According to media reports, announcements are likely to be made on Wednesday afternoon.

According to a report by ET Now, the Union Cabinet is expected to approve a Rs 25,000-crore scheme for semiconductor manufacturing. In May, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman underlined the government's priority to incentivise and facilitate investments in India through PLI schemes, which are being expanded beyond the initial 14 sectors to include semiconductors and solar components. Initially, the government had allocated incentives worth Rs 1.97 lakh crore for various PLI schemes over five years to encourage domestic manufacturing. 

On December 15, 2021, the Indian government approved Rs 76,000 crore to boost semiconductor and display manufacturing. The program aims to provide attractive incentive support to companies/consortia that are engaged in Silicon semiconductor fabs, display fabs, compound semiconductors/silicon photonics/sensors (including MEMS) fabs, semiconductor packaging (ATMP / OSAT), and semiconductor design.

Currently, the central government is offering a 50 per cent subsidy on fab units and state governments offer a 10-25 per cent subsidy over and above the central grant – however, while the incentives are lucrative, applicants must meet technical standards.

According to a Business Today report, the Cabinet is also likely to approve the City Bus Augmentation scheme worth Rs 62,000-63,000 crore to boost public transport in 169 cities. In the Budget 2021-22, the City Bus Augmentation was announced. The scheme would facilitate the deployment of PPP models to enable private sector players to finance, acquire, operate, and maintain the buses in the country. The augmentation scheme aims to provide support for new buses of all fuel types, the report said. 

Moreover, the report anticipated that the Cabinet will grant approval to the PM-PRANAM scheme, which was introduced in the Budget 2022-23 to encourage the use of alternative fertilizers. PM PRANAM, short for PM Promotion of Alternate Nutrients for Agriculture Management Yojana, aims to reduce the subsidy burden on chemical fertilizers.

In addition, a new type of sulphur-coated urea named 'Urea Gold' is likely to receive approval from the Union Cabinet, the BT report added. This initiative aims to incentivize farmers by allowing fertilizer manufacturers to sell it at market-determined prices.