Express News Service
NEW DELHI: After reports of government scrutiny of the claim of a mobile manufacturer under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, the telecom ministry has clarified it will release the fund in the next 10-15 days
Telecom secretary K Rajaraman, in interaction with TNIE, said all the applications are under process and the government will give due consideration to all eligible applications. “We received the second batch of applications this August. So, the application is under process. But one thing is sure, whoever is eligible, we will give due consideration,” said Rajaraman.
Nearly 32 beneficiaries had been approved under the PLI scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing, of which 10 (5 global and 5 domestic companies) were approved for mobile manufacturing.
As per the reports, Dixon Technologies and Samsung are said to have submitted the paperwork for claiming incentives, while others including Apple contract manufacturers Hon Hai (Foxconn) and Wistron are in the process of doing so.
Recently, Dixon Technologies became the first domestic company to receive incentives under the PLI scheme for the large-scale electronics manufacturing sector.
However, there were reports that a major mobile manufacturer’s application was stuck due to some discrepancies. On this matter, Rajaraman said if the company is eligible it is certainly going to be part of this scheme.
“For the quarter ending June 2022, the applicants under this PLI scheme had undertaken sales of Rs 1,67,770 crore, including exports of Rs 65,240 crore. The PLI scheme has also generated 28,636 jobs. Over the last 3 years, exports have grown by 139 percent,” a recent Niti Aayog statement said.
The scheme for large-scale electronic manufacturing, which includes manufacturing mobile phones and specified electronic components, was approved in March 2020, with an outlay of Rs 38,645 crore. The government believes the scheme will bring in additional production to the tune of Rs 10,69,432 crore and generate employment for 7,00,000 people. They had set a different target for the global and domestic mobile manufacturers to be eligible for the scheme.
In the case of foreign companies, the manufacturer will have to make an investment of Rs 250 crore and manufacture goods worth Rs 4,000 crore over and above the previous year. Also, the device made by the manufacturers should have an invoice value of over Rs 15,000. For the Indian players, the investment target is Rs 50 crore and they are required to manufacture phones worth Rs 500 crore in the first year.
Manufacturer’s PLI application stuck
Recently, Dixon Technologies became the first domestic company to receive incentives under the government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the large-scale electronics manufacturing sector.
However, there were reports that a major mobile manufacturer’s application was stuck due to some discrepancies. The government believes the scheme is expected to bring in production to the tune of Rs 10,69,432 crore and generate employment for 7 lakh people
.