PLI schemes clock Rs 1.61 lakh crore in investment, generate 11.5 lakh jobs: Govt

To date, 764 applications have been approved under PLI schemes for 14 key sectors and 176 MSMEs are among the PLI beneficiaries in sectors such as bulk drugs, medical devices, pharma, telecom, white goods, food processing, textiles and drones

The production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes have clocked Rs 1.61 lakh crore in investment, Rs 14 lakh crore in production and Rs 5.31 lakh crore in exports while creating 11.5 lakh jobs, the government said on Saturday.

According to a Ministry of Commerce and Industry, statement, 764 applications have been approved under PLI schemes for 14 key sectors, and 176 MSMEs are among the beneficiaries in sectors such as bulk drugs, medical devices, pharma, telecom, white goods, food processing, textiles, and drones.

Actual investment of around ₹ 1.61 lakh crore (US$ 18.72 billion) has been reported till November 2024 which has generated Production/ Sales of around ₹ 14 lakh crore (around US$ 162.84 billion) against targets of 15.52 lakh crore up to FY 2024-25 and Employment of over 11.5 lakhs (Direct & Indirect).

PLI Schemes have transformed India’s exports basket from traditional commodities to high value-added products such as electronics & telecommunication goods, processed food products etc. PLI Schemes have witnessed exports surpassing ₹ 5.31 lakh crore (around US$ 61.76 billion), with significant contributions from sectors such as Large-Scale Electronics Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Food Processing, and Telecom & Networking products.

Incentive amount of around Rs. 14020 crore disbursed under PLI Schemes for 10 Sectors viz. Large-Scale Electronics Manufacturing (LSEM), IT Hardware, Bulk Drugs, Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals, Telecom & Networking Products, Food Processing, White Goods, Automobiles & Auto components and Drones & Drone Components.

Individual cases have been approved over a period of time, through a transparent mechanism. Projects are implemented over a period of time ranging from 2 years to 3 years, depending on the nature of manufacturing and claims are usually made after 1st year of production. Hence, most of the projects are at implementation stage and will be filing incentive claims in due course, , informed Ministry of Commerce and Industry

In the PLI scheme for specialty steel, about ₹20,000 crore of investments have been made by companies out of ₹27,106 crore committed and these projects have given a direct employment of 9000. Incentive of ₹48 crore has been released to the industry so far. The Ministry of Steel estimates that an incentive of ₹2,000 crore will be disbursed by the end of the scheme tenure. 14 of 58 projects withdrew from the scheme either because of change in business plans of the company and project execution delays.

It may be worth noting that as many as 35 companies have shown interest in the second round of the PLI scheme for specialty steel. A further commitment of ₹25,200 crore investment has been committed by these companies. The Ministry of Steel is in the process of selection and signing MoUs with these companies. An incentive of ₹3,600 crore is estimated to be disbursed to these projects.

Under the PLI Scheme for the Food Processing Industry, the deadline for filing claims is November 30 for Millets and December 31 for other categories. Most approved beneficiaries submit their claims in the second half of December, after which they are processed, and disbursements occur between January and March. Therefore, assessing incentive disbursements between April and October does not provide an accurate representation. For the FY 2022-23 claim year, an incentive of ₹474 crore has been disbursed. For FY 2023-24, the disbursement target is ₹700 crore, which is on track to be achieved.

The PLI Scheme for the Food Processing Industry (PLISFI) currently has 171 active beneficiaries across all categories. Given this large number, the withdrawal of six beneficiaries is not significant. Moreover, these applicants withdrew primarily due to their inability to meet their committed investment or expenditure on Branding & Marketing abroad.