ICEA hails revised PLI for IT hardware

India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) today applauds the Government of India for announcing the revised Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for IT Hardware. This initiative is poised to significantly boost the manufacturing of laptops and tablets in India, with a strong focus on exports.

The IT hardware industry is targeted to reach a production of USD 24 bn by 2025-26, with exports anticipated to be in the range of USD 12-17 bn during the same period. This revised PLI is expected to serve as a major catalyst for both global and domestic companies aiming to establish or expand their IT hardware manufacturing operations in India.

The revised PLI Scheme has increased its budgetary outlay to INR 17,000 crore and expanded its tenure to six years. With an anticipated incremental investment of INR 2,430 crore, the scheme aims to generate an incremental production amounting to INR 3,35,000 crore. Moreover, the Revised PLI scheme is expected to create 75,000 direct jobs along with over 2,00,000 indirect jobs, significantly increasing employment opportunities in the sector. The scheme has also made the investment criteria more flexible, extending it over a six-year period compared to the previous four-year span. To further incentivize localisation, additional optional incentives have been introduced.

Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA, remarked on the announcement, “We welcome the Revised PLI for IT Hardware. This well-drafted scheme embodies the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s commitment to establishing India as a global electronics manufacturing hub. It will ensure investments across the IT hardware value chain, demonstrating the government’s receptiveness to industry inputs and their determination to translate words into action. This is an opportune moment to shift IT hardware manufacturing towards India. The momentum gained by the mobile phone industry will likely create a snowballing effect on IT Hardware.”

He further stated, “We currently import a significant portion of our laptops and tablets for consumption. This revised PLI scheme will not only foster domestic manufacturing but also likely benefit major global manufacturers of IT hardware products such as laptops and tablets. We urge the global industry to acknowledge this and consider India as a crucial destination for manufacturing IT hardware products.”

“Domestic mobile phone manufacturing has set a strong precedence of large-scale manufacturing and exports. The mobile phone export sector has achieved 100% export growth, crossing INR 90,000 crore in exports for the first time ever in FY2022-23. We believe similar success story will be repeated in IT hardware sector”, said Mr. Mohindroo.

The revised PLI for IT hardware aligns with the government’s ambitious vision of achieving USD 300 billion worth of electronics manufacturing by 2025-26, with USD 120 billion expected to come from exports. This new initiative underscores the government’s commitment to transforming India into a global electronics manufacturing powerhouse.

CT Bureau