Govt disburses 4,415 cr under PLI; low job creation a concern
- The central government has successfully disbursed Rs 4,415 crore under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for eight sectors.
- This initiative, launched in 2021, aims to boost investments, technology adoption, and global competitiveness in various industries.
Job Creation Concerns and Response
- There have been concerns about low job creation despite substantial investments.
- Employment generation, both direct and indirect, is reported to be over 6.78 lakh.
- The government acknowledges that tech-driven productions often have limited job opportunities and such challenges are expected to evolve with the advent of Industry 4.0.
Implementation Challenges and Solutions
- Challenges in the processing of claims have been identified, including prolonged communication between Project Monitoring Agencies (PMAs) and companies.
- The government has directed ministries and PMAs to create Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to streamline the processing of documents and reduce delays.
Scheme Achievements
- As of now, 746 applications have been approved in 14 sectors with an expected investment of over Rs 3 lakh crore.
- About 176 MSMEs are among the PLI beneficiaries in sectors like pharma and telecom.
- Exports under the PLI schemes have exceeded Rs 3.2 lakh crore, with notable contributions from electronics, pharma, food processing and telecom sectors.
Facilitating Foreign Investments and Achievements
- The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has established a system to facilitate visa applications for PLI beneficiary companies.
- Significant foreign direct investment growth is observed since the inception of the PLI scheme for the electronics segment.
- Import substitution of 60 percent has been achieved in the telecom sector.
Prelims Takeaway
- Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme
- MSMEs