NEW DELHI: In a bid to build a strong ecosystem for 5G in the country, the government on Monday extended the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for design-led manufacturing by one year. The government has also approved addition of 11 new telecom and networking products to the existing list, and announced to give an additional incentive rate of 1% over and above existing incentive rates.
“With the objective to build a strong ecosystem for 5G, the Union Budget 2022-23 has proposed to launch a scheme for design-led manufacturing as part of the existing PLI scheme. After consultations with stakeholders, the guidelines for the PLI scheme for Telecom and Networking Products have been amended to introduce the Design-led Manufacturing with additional incentive rates,” said the Ministry of Communications in a statement.
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had notified PLI scheme on February 24, 2021, with a financial outlay of `12,195 crore. A total of 31 companies, comprising 16 MSMEs and 15 Non-MSMEs including 8 domestic and 7 global companies were given approval on October 14, 2021.
DoT further said based on feedback from stakeholders including the selected PLI applicants, it has decided to extend the existing scheme by a year. The existing beneficiaries will be given an option to choose financial year 2021-22 or financial year 2022-23 as the first year of incentive.
Under the scheme, the DoT is inviting applications from design-led manufacturers as well as others, for availing of incentive under PLI scheme for five years commencing from April 1, 2022. Investment made by successful applicants in India from April 1, 2022, onwards and up to financial year (FY) 2025-2026 are eligible for the scheme, subject to qualifying incremental annual thresholds. The scheme is open for both MSMEs and non-MSMEs including domestic and global companies. The applications from design-led manufacturers should be prioritised over other manufacturers while shortlisting.