The Ministry of Communication has authorised 42 companies, including 28 MSMEs, for telecom and networking products under the production-linked incentive scheme (PLI). International firms including Samsung, Nokia, Jabil, Rising Star, Flextronics and local players such as HFCL, ITI, VVDN and Tejas Networks were approved under the scheme.
A total of Rs. 4,115 crore investment has been committed by these 42 firms, which would generate more than 44,000 extra jobs. Of the selected firms, 17 companies have applied for an additional incentive of 1% under design-led manufacturing criteria.
The scheme is crucial to strengthen the value chain of multiple verticals of 5G equipment. The Centre had also decided to provide additional incentives of over Rs 4,000 crore under the amended scheme. In effect, the policy was modified with the aim of building a strong ecosystem for 5G.
The Union Budget of FY2022-23 introduced a design-led PLI plan for telecom and networking products in order to build a strong domestic value chain, which provides an extra incentive of 1% in addition to the existing incentives for goods which are manufactured and designed in India. In June this year, the Department of Telecom launched an incentive scheme for design-led manufacturers and extended the duration of the Rs 12,195 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme by 1 year.
