The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry statement released on Tuesday (26 December 2023) revealed that the production linked incentive (PLI) schemes initiated by the central government have attracted investments exceeding ₹95,000 crore by September. These investments have resulted in the production of goods valued at ₹7.80 lakh crore. Additionally, these PLI schemes, spanning 14 sectors, have generated both direct and indirect employment opportunities for over 6.4 lakh individuals and have boosted exports by ₹3.20 lakh crore. In the fiscal year 2022-23, incentives totaling approximately ₹2,900 crore have been disbursed.
Notable achievements include a 20 percent increase in value addition in mobile manufacturing within three years and a significant contribution to the USD 101 billion total electronics production in FY 2022-23, with smartphones accounting for USD 44 billion, including USD 11.1 billion in exports.
Import substitution of 60 percent has been accomplished in the Telecom sector, rendering India nearly self-reliant in products like Antennae, GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network), and CPE (Customer Premises Equipment). The Pharma sector has seen a considerable reduction in imports of raw materials, with the manufacturing of unique intermediate materials and bulk drugs taking place in India, including Penicillin-G. Moreover, technology transfer has occurred in the production of Medical Devices such as CT scans and MRIs.
The drones sector has experienced a seven-fold increase in turnover, driven mainly by MSME startups. Under the PLI Scheme for Food Processing, there has been a significant rise in the sourcing of raw materials from India, positively impacting the income of Indian farmers and MSMEs.
In the white goods sector, including ACs and LED lights, 64 companies have invested a total of ₹5,429 crore, with additional investments of ₹6,766 crore expected to create approximately 48,000 new jobs. The net incremental production is projected to exceed ₹1.23 lakh crore during the scheme’s duration. Thirteen foreign companies are investing ₹2,090 crore under the scheme, while 23 MSME applicants have committed investments of ₹1,042 crore. Notably, the actual investment has surpassed the threshold, reaching ₹2,084 crore by September, underscoring the scheme’s success.
These facts come at a time when ‘rockstar economists’ like Raghuram Rajan have been criticizing and trivializing the Modi government’s PLI scheme.
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