India plans over Rs 18,000 cr in incentives for new manufacturing sectors
India is planning to offer incentives of up to Rs 18,000 crore ($2.2 billion) to spur local manufacturing in six new sectors including chemicals, shipping containers and inputs for vaccines, two government officials said.
The proposal is part of the country's Rs 1.97 lakh crore-production-linked incentive scheme (PLI), launched in 2020 which currently targets 14 sectors ranging from electronic products to drones, but has been successful only in a handful of them.
A fraction of the PLI incentives has been claimed so far, prompting the government to allocate unused funds to new sectors.
Limited payouts under the scheme could lead to «large» savings which may be redirected to new sectors, the two government officials with knowledge of the plan said.
They did not wish to be named as details of the plan have not been made public. India's federal trade ministry that oversees the scheme's implementation did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The six new sectors that could join the PLI scheme also include toys, bicycles, leather and footwear, the officials said.
These sectors will share the Rs 18,000-crore-rupee allocation that is being carved out from the scheme's original outlay, they added.
India sees the PLI scheme as crucial to boosting the broader Indian economy which has been starved of private investment for nearly a decade and is struggling to create adequate jobs, particularly in manufacturing.
Total incentives worth nearly Rs 2,900 crore were paid out in the fiscal year that ended in March. Little has been paid to businesses in sectors including speciality steel products, solar modules, and car components, according to a government report seen by Reuters.
In the fiscal year that started in
