Department of Telecom issues guidelines for Rs 12,200-crore PLI scheme: Here's how to apply

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The Department of Telecom on June 3 issued guidelines on implementation of production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for equipment manufacturers in the sector. The scheme will be effective from April 1, 2021.

Who qualifies?

In order to qualify for the scheme, applicants will have to satisfy the minimum revenue criteria to be eligible. For MSMEs, a minimum investment threshold of Rs 10 crore is needed.

Similarly, the minimum investment threshold required for non-MSME applicants is Rs 100 crore.

Once the application is cleared, the Department of Telecommunications shall grant approvals to 10  eligible applications each in MSME and non-MSME categories.

Out of the 10 applications in the non-MSME category, at least three applicants will be eligible domestic companies.

The applications will be shortlisted from highest to lowest on the basis of committed cumulative incremental investment during the scheme period.

Those interested can register for the Scheme from June 4, 2021, at  https://www.pli-telecom.udyamimitra.in, after which it will be available for up to 30 days.

The application window for this will be open until July 3, 2021.

This PLI scheme will be implemented within the overall financial limits of Rs 12,195 crore for the implementation of the scheme over a period of five years. For the MSME category, the financial allocation will be Rs 1000 crore.

"The scheme envisages creating global champions out of India who have the potential to grow in size and scale using cutting edge technology and thereby penetrate the global value chains. Telecom products play an important role in the larger vision of Digital India," the ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, the government estimates incremental production on account of this PLI scheme at Rs 2.4 lakh crore. The investor can earn incentives for incremental sales up to 20 times the committed investment enabling them to reach global scales and utilise their unused capacity and ramp up production.