The government will hold a comprehensive review of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme next Friday (January 12) and is not looking at bringing more manufacturing sectors in its flagship schemes, a senior official said Thursday.
The review will be of the performance of all 14 sectors covered by the Rs 1.97 trillion scheme. “Currently we are focused on getting these 14 PLIs up and running in a good way. So for the time being, the new PLIs are not being considered and we will focus on ensuring that these existing schemes get implemented well and thereafter we will see,” secretary in the department for promotion of industry and internal trade Rajesh Kumar Singh told reporters.
“Our overall assessment is that it (PLI) has done very well in several sectors. There are other sectors which are in gestation period and there are some where it is lagging a bit but we expect to see a take-off very soon,” he added.
The government was earlier looking at extending the scheme for new sectors such as chemicals and petrochemicals, leather, toys, and new-age e-bikes. Discussions on it had reached an advanced stage before the expansion of PLI was put on hold.
The DPIIT has also initiated the assessment of the PLI for White Goods (ACs and LED) which it is responsible for. Departments responsible for PLI under other sectors may also undertake a similar review.
The scheme was launched in 2021 with an outlay of Rs 6238 crore. Out of the 64 selected beneficiaries of the scheme, 15 have started production. These 15 beneficiaries who have started production had opted for a gestation period of up to 31st March 2022.
Rest of the beneficiaries who have opted for Gestation period up to 31st March, 2023 are at different stages of implementation. The scheme is to be implemented over a seven years period, from FY 2021-22 to FY 2028-29.
The Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management is doing the assessment. “They will look at it from all angles. Whether stated objectives have been achieved.
We want to understand how the scheme is working, whether any course correction, whether we need to tweak this scheme. This will be done after we receive the report. Not just from the government’s view but also from the view of all PLI beneficiaries,” Joint Secretary in DPIIT Sanjiv said.
The PLI scheme was announced in 2021 for 14 sectors such as telecommunication, white goods, textiles, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles, speciality steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell battery, drones, and pharma with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore.
Earlier DPIIT secretary released a report on the progress of toy manufacturing in India after the sector got focussed attention from the government.
Basic Custom Duty (BCD) on toys was increased from 20% to 60% in February 2020. In March 2023 it was increased further to 70%. Coupled with tariff protection, the quality control norms for toys were notified in 2021 which prohibited import, manufacture and sale of toys not conforming to standards.
This has resulted in imports coming down to $ 158.7 million in FY23 from $ 371.69 million in 2018-19. Exports of toys during this period have gone up to $ 325.72 million in FY 23 from $203.46 million in 2018-19.