The government on Saturday said that the industry should look at flagship Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes as a kickstarter and not a crutch.
“The PLI scheme is not to make the beneficiaries dependent on government services but can be utilised as a boost in the manufacturing sector, an initial support for the long journey ahead. Ultimately competition will prevail,” commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said at an interaction with PLI beneficiaries.
Around 1,200 stakeholders across 14 PLI schemes being implemented participated in the meeting ‘PLI Perspectives’.
At the meeting, the minister sought details of problems being faced by the beneficiaries, views to make the schemes function better and constructive criticism.
After the meeting, Goyal said that the scheme is a successful programme. “Lots of suggestions and ideas came in, certainly some concerns also came in but all in all I can assure you that there is no delay in the scheme,” he told reporters.
Goyal said that there is a gestation period in implementation of a project.
“Certain sectors have taken off very fast but those sectors also started first like the mobile, and APIs… and these are sectors where gestation period is relatively lesser but if suppose you have to make compressors for air conditioners, it’s a very complicated technology based industry…,” he added.
In his address, secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Rajesh Kumar Singh asked those present to focus on value addition as India’s manufacturing Gross Value Added (GVA) is about 17.4%.
“The scheme will help you grow bigger. You will be able to change India’s manufacturing landscape and really bump up our share in the GVA as (at present) it is really far too low for an economy which is trying to achieve a developed nation status in the next 25 years,” he said.
Singh said certain quarters have raised some problems with regard to the scheme and the government is working to address those issues. He added that local value addition is happening in sectors under PLI such as mobile phones and white goods.
He admitted there could be some “teething” issues in the scheme with regard to documentation or incentive disbursal, but those are “nuts and bolts” of the story on which “we would like your feedback”.
Goyal also asked the industry to gradually focus on global markets and come out from the “cosy comfort” of India’s large domestic market.
A more outward looking effort would help add scale, volume and enhance cost effectiveness, he said.
Apart from beneficiaries, officials from 10 ministries and departments and project management agencies which are actually running the schemes also participated in the interaction.
The government is running PLI schemes for 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 trillion.
The schemes aim to attract investments in key sectors and cutting-edge technology; ensure efficiency, bring economies of size and scale in the manufacturing sector and make Indian companies and manufacturers globally competitive.
Of the Rs 1.97 trillion, the government has only disbursed Rs 4,415 crore to the beneficiaries so far. As of date, 746 applications have been approved in 14 sectors with an expected investment of over Rs 3 trillion.