Disbursal of Rs 79 cr under PLI for white goods expected in last quarter

The government is expected to disburse Rs 79 crore fiscal incentives under PLI for white goods in the last quarter of this financial year as certain selected beneficiary firms have started production, a senior official said.

The production linked incentive (PLI) scheme on white goods seeks to encourage domestic manufacturing of air conditioners and LED light components.

The official also said that the target of Rs 11,000 crore incentive disbursement for different sectors under the scheme during the current fiscal may fall short.

"Lot of the disbursement will come in the last fiscal. Lot of projects are in gestation period. In the white goods sector, we are expecting about Rs 79 crore disbursement in the last quarter," the official said.

Of the 64 selected beneficiaries of the PLI scheme under the white goods segment, 15 have started production. These 15 beneficiaries had opted for a gestation period of up to March 31, 2022. Rest of the beneficiaries who opted for gestation period of up to March 31, 2023 are at different stages of implementation.

The scheme is to be implemented over a seven-year period, from 2021-22 to 2028-29, and has an outlay of Rs 6,238 crore.

When asked about the plan to extend the scheme for sectors like toys, the official said: "It will be decided after a review of the scheme. We are taking stock and what is the progress so far. The progress is better in some, and in some sectors, changes are required. So an inter-ministerial consultation is on."

Till March this year, incentives worth Rs 2,900 crore have been disbursed under the Rs 1.98 lakh crore PLI scheme.

An additional Rs 1,000 crore incentives for this year has been granted for companies engaged in electronics manufacturing.

PLI schemes for sectors such as electronics, mobile manufacturing, pharma and food processing are doing well while in some sectors like textiles, certain course correction is expected.

The scheme was announced in 2021 for 14 sectors such as telecommunications, white goods, textiles, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles, speciality steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell battery, drones and pharma with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore.

PLI schemes for sectors which are not picking up well include advanced chemistry cell (ACC) batteries, textile products and speciality steel.

The government is trying to sort out issues such as timely processing of claims, visa-related matters where vendors require Chinese professionals' expertise, and delay in getting environmental clearances that have been raised by the stakeholders of the schemes.

The purpose of the schemes is to attract investments in key sectors and cutting-edge technology; ensure efficiency and bring economies of size and scale in the manufacturing sector; and make Indian companies and manufacturers globally competitive.