Samsung, Wistron and other electronics manufacturers have called for targets in the upcoming production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for hardware to be revised or timelines extended.
Reaching out to the ministry of electronics and IT through seperate meetings, they said without the proposed changes, applicants may be discouraged from taking up the scheme and investing in the country. They said the changes are needed to avoid a situation mobile phone manufacturers found themselves in, with only one of 16 handset companies achieving the target for FY21 even after making timely investments.
“PLI was conceptualised by the government in the pre-Covid era... but now there is a serious need to relook the scheme. The target should be revised or instead of four years we should be given five years to qualify for incentives,” said Nitin Kunkolienker, president of the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology.
He said the scheme is a two-way partnership between the government and the industry. The government would be the larger beneficiary, with 60% of the gains by way of foreign exchange, tax and non-tax revenue, employment, economic activity and social sector benefits.
“The idea is not to prove that industry is failing to achieve, the idea is to prove that the government ensures the industry succeeds in leading this revolution,” he said.
Queries sent to HP, Samsung and Wistron did not elicit any response till press time. Dell and Rising Stars (Foxconn) declined to comment.
All but one of the first batch of 16 PLI companies that were approved to make mobile phones in October failed to meet their production targets for the first year ended March 31, 2021.
Apart from Samsung, the other companies have been asking the ministry to declare FY21 as a zero year because Covid-19-led restrictions delayed the setting up of production lines.
Other industry associations have also put forward the industry’s concerns, but the final decision on the matter rests with an empowered committee.
The ministry notified the scheme for laptops, tablets, PCs and servers in March, offering incentives worth Rs 7,325 crore to be disbursed over four years to five global and 10 domestic companies.
Reaching out to the ministry of electronics and IT through seperate meetings, they said without the proposed changes, applicants may be discouraged from taking up the scheme and investing in the country. They said the changes are needed to avoid a situation mobile phone manufacturers found themselves in, with only one of 16 handset companies achieving the target for FY21 even after making timely investments.
The companies said the government must keep in mind global supply chain difficulties and India’s coronavirus crisis before setting ambitious output timelines for making laptops, tablets and servers, according to people familiar with the matter.
“PLI was conceptualised by the government in the pre-Covid era... but now there is a serious need to relook the scheme. The target should be revised or instead of four years we should be given five years to qualify for incentives,” said Nitin Kunkolienker, president of the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology.
He said the scheme is a two-way partnership between the government and the industry. The government would be the larger beneficiary, with 60% of the gains by way of foreign exchange, tax and non-tax revenue, employment, economic activity and social sector benefits.
“The idea is not to prove that industry is failing to achieve, the idea is to prove that the government ensures the industry succeeds in leading this revolution,” he said.
Queries sent to HP, Samsung and Wistron did not elicit any response till press time. Dell and Rising Stars (Foxconn) declined to comment.
All but one of the first batch of 16 PLI companies that were approved to make mobile phones in October failed to meet their production targets for the first year ended March 31, 2021.
Apart from Samsung, the other companies have been asking the ministry to declare FY21 as a zero year because Covid-19-led restrictions delayed the setting up of production lines.
Other industry associations have also put forward the industry’s concerns, but the final decision on the matter rests with an empowered committee.
The ministry notified the scheme for laptops, tablets, PCs and servers in March, offering incentives worth Rs 7,325 crore to be disbursed over four years to five global and 10 domestic companies.
