Excellent response for hardware PLI scheme: India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw  

The government of India has received an enthusiastic response from international companies for the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for hardware, including Lenovo, HP, Dell and Acer, The Economic Times quoted Union Minster of Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw as saying on Wednesday.

Up to 32 companies have submitted their proposals to the government.

“Excellent response received for the production of laptops and PCs under the hardware Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) scheme. We have met almost all the 32 companies who applied and the portal will be closing tonight. Companies that will be manufacturing laptops include HP India, Dell, Acer, Lenovo, Thomson and others,” The Economic Times quoted Vaishanaw as saying in a media briefing.

Despite this, US tech giant Apple has not expressed interest in the PLI program yet.

The IT Minister emphasised that under the PLI hardware plan, there will be a special emphasis on laptops built in India, as well as consideration for tablets, AiO PC servers, and ultra-small form factor devices.

According to the minister, the planned incremental investment under the plan is Rs 2,430 crore ($239 million), while the expected incremental production is estimated to be Rs 3.35 lakh crore ($40 billion). 75,000 additional direct jobs are anticipated.

At the media briefing, Vaishnaw said that India is presently emerging as a trusted supply chain partner and value-added partner and that companies are keen to carry out manufacturing and design in India.

Vaishnaw added that the government is optimistic about hardware exports having the same level of success as exports of smartphones.

“The government is working on multiple ways to improve electronics manufacturing in the country,”he said.

He added that Dixon’s Noida factory would shortly begin producing.

On May 29, 2023, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware was announced, with a budget of Rs 17,000 crore ($20 million). On May 17, the Union Cabinet, which is presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the introduction of the program.

The program aims to develop and broaden the nation's ecosystem for making IT gear.

By encouraging the localisation of components and sub-assemblies and allowing for a longer period of time to establish the supply chain within the nation, the PLI Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware is anticipated to lead to the broadening and deepening of the manufacturing ecosystem.

The government launched Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes in a variety of industries as part of its Atmanirbhar and Make in India plan to increase exports, improve export competitiveness, attract investments, and lessen reliance on imports.

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