Amended PLI scheme for IT sector to produce 3 lakh jobs: Ashwini Viashnaw

"This will generate an expected incremental direct employment of 75,000. We know that the direct-to-indirect employment ratio is 1:3 in this sector. So, another 2 lakh of employment will be generated," the minister said.

The Cabinet has granted approval to the PLI Scheme 2.0, a production-linked incentive scheme worth Rs 17,000 crore, specifically designed for the IT hardware sector.

This scheme aims to boost domestic manufacturing of various products including laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, servers, and ultra-small form factor devices.

With a duration of six years, the scheme is projected to facilitate incremental production worth Rs 3.35 lakh crore in the sector.

The government said in 2022 India achieved major milestones in its electronics manufacturing sector, surpassing $10 billion in mobile phone exports and $105 billion in overall electronics manufacturing.

By providing incentives and support to the IT hardware manufacturing sector, the government aims to attract investments, promote local manufacturing, and position India as a major player in the global electronics market.

Building on this success, the government now aims to replicate the promotion of domestic smartphone and telecom equipment production in the manufacturing of laptops and other advanced computers.

The goal is to encourage the growth of the domestic manufacturing industry and establish India as a global hub to produce various electronic devices.

The government has high expectations for the new version of the PLI scheme, anticipating that it will significantly boost the total electronics manufacturing in the country to reach $300 billion per year.

"Two companies have become exporters of very complex telecom equipment. That is the big picture you have to see," said Vaishnaw.

"There is a complex ecosystem of IT hardware -- we are thinking how to bring them to India, help them localise, how our Indian companies grow in a systematic way so that their capabilities increase. Keeping these in mind, a comprehensive program today has been approved" he added.