Rs 2,874 Crore Released For PLI Beneficiaries From Eight Sectors Till March: Govt

A government official said incentive claims of Rs 3,420.05 crore have been received under the scheme for eight sectors of which over Rs 2,800 crore have been disbursed.

The government has released Rs 2,874.71 crore to the beneficiaries of the production-linked incentive scheme (PLI) till March, a Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) official said on Wednesday. A majority of these beneficiary companies belong to eight sectors, including electronics, telecom, pharma, and food processing, PTI reported.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Additional Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajeev Singh Thakur also said these eight sectors were doing well, while few need to increase their pace. 

Thakur said incentive claims of over Rs 3,420.05 crore have been received under the scheme for eight sectors -- large-scale electronics manufacturing; electronics and technology products; bulk drugs; medical devices; pharmaceuticals; telecom and networking products; food items; and drones. Out of which "over Rs 2,800 crore have already been disbursed", the report said. 

To improve domestic manufacturing capacity and increase exports, the PLI scheme with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore was announced for 14 sectors in 2020.

"The next two-three years will be crucial and we hope that things will move with a fast pace," Singh said.

As per the Additional Secretary, a total of 717 applications from 14 different industries have been approved as of December 2022 under the PLI scheme. These approvals are estimated to bring in investments worth Rs 2.74 lakh crore. Furthermore, the realized investment of Rs 53,500 crore has resulted in a significant increase in output/sales, totaling over Rs 5 lakh crore, and the creation of more than 3 lakh jobs.

A maximum of Rs 1,649 was disbursed in the electronics sector. It was followed by pharma (Rs 652 crore), food products (Rs 486 crore), telecom (Rs 35 crore), drones (Rs 30 crore), medical devices (12.8 crore), and electronics (Rs 5.3 crore), and bulk drugs (Rs 4.34 crore), the report said. 

The production-linked incentive (PLI) system has also been extended to include textiles, white products, specialty steel, advanced chemical cells, and auto components.

When asked if there were any intentions to expand the scope of the program, Thakur said that there have been requests from many industries, but no final decision has been made.