UNDER ITS flagship production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for smartphone manufacturing, the federal government has disbursed near $1 billion within the three years from 2022-23 to 2024-25, with Foxconn, Tata Electronics and Pegatron, the three contract producers of Apple receiving cumulatively over 75 per cent of the quantity.
In accordance with information obtained by The Indian Categorical in response to an utility beneath the Proper to Info Act, disbursements of a complete Rs 8,700 crore had been made to 19 corporations which efficiently met their funding and manufacturing thresholds.
The information revealed that 32 corporations had been accepted over two rounds beneath the scheme, which has been instrumental for ramping up smartphone manufacturing within the nation. In truth, handsets are actually the second highest exported product from India, at $13.1 billion throughout April-November 2024.
Total, 5 beneficiaries collectively acquired greater than 98 per cent of the entire disbursals: Foxconn (Rs 2,807.17 crore), Tata Electronics (Rs 2,067.51 crore), Pegatron (Rs 1,724.36 crore), Samsung (Rs 1,365.91 crore) and Padget Electronics (Rs 596 crore).
Apple’s contract producers, Foxconn, Tata Electronics and Pegatron (which was not too long ago acquired by the Tatas), have acquired a complete of just about Rs 6,600 crore over three years — 2022-23 and 2024-25.
The RTI information additionally revealed that in 2022-23, the primary yr when PLI incentives had been disbursed, the utmost subsidy of Rs 953 crore was issued to Wistron (later acquired by Tata Electronics).
In 2023-24, Foxconn, which is Apple’s largest contract producer globally, acquired a subsidy disbursal of Rs 2,450 crore, the very best in the course of the yr. Nevertheless, in 2024-25, the info confirmed no incentive was issued to Foxconn. In 2024-25, Samsung acquired the very best subsidy of near Rs 958 crore.
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The PLI for big scale electronics manufacturing, which was first introduced in 2020 with an outlay of Rs 38,601 crore, gives incentives starting from 4 to six per cent on web incremental gross sales of eligible merchandise over the gross sales within the base yr to the chosen candidates.
Apart from Apple and Samsung, native contract producer Dixon (Padget Electronics) has additionally benefited from the scheme. The corporate manufactures smartphones and have telephones for corporations resembling Xiaomi, Google, Samsung, and Motorola.
However, another home corporations resembling Lava, Bhagwati, and Optiemus, have failed to fulfill PLI targets to get incentives.
The precise investments made by corporations producing beneath the PLI scheme was barely decrease at Rs 8,282 crore till June 2024, in comparison with the entire subsidy disbursal of Rs 8,700 crore.
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In a written response to Parliament final July, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada mentioned the 32 accepted corporations have dedicated funding of Rs 11,324 crore and projected a manufacturing goal of Rs 10.7 lakh crore beneath the scheme.
In a publish on X final month, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw mentioned the businesses had been focusing on to export smartphones price greater than $20 billion within the present monetary yr.
Past manufacturing, the scheme has additionally been a giant driver of employment within the nation. The Indian Categorical had earlier reported that it had helped create 1,22,613 direct jobs in three years and three months.
The PLI scheme has topped the allocation at Rs 8,885 crore in Union Finances 2025-26, considerably larger than allocation for PLI schemes of different ministries.
