The Indian government has shortlisted 33 companies for being a part of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the telecom sector. The scheme will offer these companies benefits worth Rs 12,000 crore if they are able to meet their manufacturing or production goals within the desired time and inside the boundaries of India. The government had announced the PLI scheme for various sectors earlier this year. On February 24, 2021, the Indian government had said the telecom sector would get a PLI scheme too, which will offer benefits worth Rs 12,195 crore.
Companies That Have Made the Cut for Telecom Sector PLI
According to a TOI report, seven out of eight global companies which applied for the scheme have made the cut. These include Nokia Electronics (proposed investment of Rs 125 crore), Rising Stars Hi-Tech (Rs 125 crore), Foxconn (Rs 208 crore), Jabil Circuit (Rs 176 crore), Flextronics (Rs 102 crore), CommScope (Rs 209 crore), and Sanmina-SCI (Rs 110 crore). In the domestic company, a total of 26 companies have been shortlisted by the government. Out of these 26 companies, 17 are in the MSME category, and 9 are in the large ones. Some of the major companies that have been included are Tejas Networks, GDN Enterprises, Neolync Tele Communications, VVDN Technologies, and more. One of the major Indian companies that are being rejected is Tech Mahindra. The reason behind the rejection of Tech Mahindra is that it is a software development company only, and it doesn’t engage in building and manufacturing physical network equipment for the telecom sector. The PLI scheme is certainly going to be very beneficial for the telecom sector and also India in the long run. With telcos looking to proliferate 5G as soon as possible, a strong local manufacturing ecosystem in India would certainly go a long way in helping with that. Companies like Foxconn and Nokia are expected to easily make the cut for the incentives.
