The Centre is hopeful that the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for all 10 sectors approved by the Union Cabinet late last year will receive required clearances from the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) and a subsequent nod from the Cabinet and be duly notified by March 31, Department of Policy for Investment and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra has said.
The PLI proposal for Air Conditioners and LEDs, under the DPIIT, has already been approved by the EFC with an outlay of ₹6,238 crore and will extend an incentive of 4-6 per cent on incremental sale to eligible companies. On the Budget decision of increasing FDI limit in insurance companies to 74 per cent from 49 per cent, Mohapatra said that once amendment in the Insurance Act is moved, the changes can be notified.
Addressing a press briefing on Friday, he added that all necessary safeguards that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority feels relevant would be incorporated to protect the sensitive sector. Elaborating on the PLI scheme, Mohapatra said that while individual schemes for all ten sectors – ACC battery, electronic tech, auto and auto components, pharma drugs, telecom, textile, food, solar PV modules, LED & ACs and speciality steel – were expected to get notified by the end of the financial year, it could take another two-three months for beneficiaries to be identified.
‘Game changer’
The government has committed nearly ₹1.97-lakh crore in the next 5 years starting in 2021-22 to help bring scale and size . “The PLI scheme will be a game changer in terms of promoting global champions. The focus is to promote manufacturing not only for the domestic market but also for the world by achieving a certain scale and quality,” he said.
A systematic exercise to minimise regulatory compliance burden through simplification, rationalisation, digitisation and decriminalisation in the current regulatory regime is also likely to make significant headway across Central Ministries and States by August 15, the DPIIT Secretary said.
Mohapatra said that the Prime Minister himself was monitoring the exercise. The DPIIT was also co-ordinating minimising of regulations being undertaken by States.