

Samsung was the star of smartphone PLI. But it gave telecom PLI a complete miss
₹12,195 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme was introduced in February 2021 to encourage the local manufacture of equipment such as network switches, transmission gear and set-top boxes.Out of the scheme's 42 applicants, 19 including Samsung have not claimed or received any incentive, data showed. Only 15% of the scheme's outlay was actually disbursed, even as its five-year run ends this month.Companies which have chosen FY23 as base year will have one year left (FY27) to claim incentives on incremental sales, whereas investments under the scheme were only allowed till FY26 for all the scheme participants.Samsung India Electronics, which applied for the scheme in 2022, chose to withdraw because it found local manufacturing unviable given limited customer demand for its telecom gear, an industry expert said.
The company had set an investment target of ₹168 crore till FY25 for local manufacturing, but it did not make such investments to start production. Given the limited demand, the company found imports more viable, the person said on the condition of anonymity.To be sure, Samsung, Nokia and Ericsson have contracts to supply 4G/5G radio and network infrastructure to telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea in the country.In sharp contrast, Samsung had topped India’s smartphone PLI scheme for making phones locally, earning over ₹1,000 crore in incentives during a five-year period.
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