PLI Scheme for Telecom Sector

• 09 Mar 2021

Why in News

The Union Cabinet has approved the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the telecom sector with an outlay of Rs. 12,195 crores over five years.

Key Points

• About the PLI Scheme:
  
  • In order to boost domestic manufacturing and cut down on import bills, the central government in March 2020 introduced a scheme that aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in domestic units.
  • Apart from inviting foreign companies to set shop in India, the scheme also aims to encourage local companies to set up or expand existing manufacturing units.
  • The Scheme has been approved for many sectors including electronic products, IT hardware, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and components, etc.
• PLI Scheme for Telecom Sector :
  
  • About:
    
    • This Scheme is for domestic manufacturing of telecom and networking products such as switches, routers, 4G/5G radio access network, wireless equipment and other internet of things (IoT) access devices.
    • It will be operational from 1^st April, 2021.
  • Eligibility for the Scheme:
    
    • It is subject to achieving a minimum threshold of cumulative incremental investment and incremental sales of manufactured goods.
    • The cumulative investment can be made at one go, subject to annual cumulative threshold as prescribed for four years being met.
    • 2019-20 will be treated as the base year for computation of cumulative incremental sales of manufactured goods net of taxes.
  • Incentives:
    
    • An investor who qualifies for the scheme will be incentivised up to 20 times the minimum investment threshold, enabling them to utilise their unused capacity.
  • Higher Incentives for MSMEs:
    
    • For Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the minimum investment threshold has been kept at Rs. 10 crore, while for others it is Rs. 100 crore.
    • For MSMEs, a 1% higher incentive is also proposed in the first three years.
• Significance :
  
  • The scheme is expected to lead to an incremental production of about Rs. 2.4 lakh crore, with exports of about Rs. 2 lakh crore over five years and bring in investments of more than Rs. 3,000 crore.
  • Scheme is also likely to generate 40,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities and generate tax revenue of Rs. 17,000 crore from telecom equipment manufacturing.
  • Through this scheme, India will move towards self-reliance. Currently, India imports over 80% of its telecom and wireless networking equipment.

Source: IE