Cabinet secretary reviews progress of PLI scheme in certain sectors; another meeting likely soon

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba on Thursday reviewed the progress of the production-linked incentive scheme (PLI) for sectors that are «generally doing very well» like pharma and electronics, a senior official said. Another such review is expected for the remaining sectors, the official said. The scheme was announced in 2021 for 14 sectors such as telecommunication, 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.

«Today we covered sectors that are generally doing very well like pharma, electronics and mobile manufacturing, and white goods. Others which have not fully taken off are coming up later,» the official said. «They are doing well but they can do better.

We are in the process of consulting whether any minor tweaking is required. Once we complete the process, we will be in a position,» the official added when asked about the details of the review meeting. PLI schemes for sectors which are not picking up well include high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell (ACC) batteries, textile products and speciality steel.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) held a workshop with concerned PLI stake-holders in June to get feedback. «Some of those suggestions after taking the feedback we will convert into policy decisions,» the official said. Stakeholders have flagged issues like timely processing of claims; visa-related matters where vendors require some expertise from Chinese professionals; delay in getting environmental clarences in some states.