The Indian government has finalized PLI norms for the telecom and network equipment manufacturing. The cabinet had recently approved the broader PLI scheme worth Rs 12,200 crore (€1.4 billion) to boost local manufacturing of telecom gear for both the domestic market and exports. The scheme will cover core transmission equipment, 4G/5G and next-generation radio access network and wireless equipment, access, and customer premise equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) access devices, and enterprise equipment such as switches and router.

The government has started inviting applications for the second round of large-scale electronics manufacturing under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme with focus on some electronic components like motherboards boards   semiconductor devices, among others. The application window for the scheme has been opened till March 31 which may be further extended, as per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity).

The Union Cabinet approved the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for air conditioners (ACs) and light-emitting diode (LED) lights with an aim to boost the local component supply ecosystem for these items. Under the new PLI, a sum of Rs 6,238 crore (€73 billion) has been approved as incentives to selected manufacturers over a five-year period starting 2021-22.  Since last April, the cabinet, headed by Prime Minister, has approved PLI for five sectors. But unlike the previous ones the latest scheme solely focuses on component manufacturing.

The Indian government has finalized PLI norms for the telecom and network equipment manufacturing. The cabinet had recently approved the broader PLI scheme worth Rs 12,200 crore (€1.4 billion)  to boost local manufacturing of telecom gear for both the domestic market and exports. The scheme will cover core transmission equipment, 4G/5G and next-generation radio access network and wireless equipment, access and customer premise equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) access devices, and enterprise equipment such as switches and router.The Indian government has finalized PLI norms for the telecom and network equipment manufacturing. The cabinet had recently approved the broader PLI scheme worth Rs 12,200 crore (€1.4 billion)  to boost local manufacturing of telecom gear for both the domestic market and exports. The scheme will cover core transmission equipment, 4G/5G and next-generation radio access network and wireless equipment, access and customer premise equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) access devices, and enterprise equipment such as switches and router.

Prime Minister said production linked incentive scheme, which is aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing and exports, is expected to increase the country's production by USD 520 billion in the next five years. In this year's Budget, about Rs 2 lakh crore was earmarked for the PLI scheme for the next five years and "there is an expectation that the scheme would result in increasing the production by about USD 520 billion in the next five years".  There is also an expectation that the current workforce in the sectors, which will avail the benefits of the PLI scheme, will be doubled and job creation will also increase.

MoS for Education, Communications, Electronics and IT, said that materials are the backbone of the manufacturing sector in the country and that India’s electronics manufacturing has grown from Rs 1.90 lakh crore (€ 22.3 billion) International Energy Agency akh crore to Rs 5.33 lakh crore (€62.7 billion) in recent years. From contributing approximately 1.3% in 2012, the share of mobile phone manufacturing has increased to 3.6 per cent during 2019 - 2020. This growth has opened employability for thousands,".

With an eye on supporting domestic manufacturers, the government proposed an increase in customs duty on certain imported components used in automobiles. In the Budget 2021-22, the Finance Minister proposed an increase in customs duty of various parts including ignition wiring sets, safety glass and parts of signalling equipment to 15 % with effect from February. The government said the changes in basic customs duty is for creating a level-playing field for the benefit of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and other domestic manufacturers.

DoT is likely to issue guidelines on implementation of production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for manufacturers in the sector and start inviting applications for the same. Telecom gear makers firms such as Ericsson and Nokia are keen to expand their operations in India, and global companies like Samsung, Cisco, Ciena and Foxconn have "shown interest" to set up manufacturing bases in the country for telecom and networking products for domestic and export markets. "Telecom PLI has already been approved by the government. The DoT is ready with guidelines to implement it, application format, incentive allocation, etc.