Production-linked sops to be extended to solar PV makers

The move will help global manufacturing companies that are exploring a China plus one strategy for production.

While a package for ₹18,000 crore is in the works for battery storage manufacturing over the next six years, the government is also looking at a similar ₹4,500 crore scheme to attract solar PV makers.

A recent meeting of group of secretaries took place to suggest a plan to attract companies to set up manufacturing units in the country.

Mint had reported on 21 July citing economic affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj that the government will extend the production-linked incentive (PLI) it announced in March for electronics production to some more sectors soon.

The Centre last month received applications from top global and domestic mobile phone makers such as Samsung, Pegatron, Wistron, Foxconn, Rising Star, Lava, Micromax, among others, under the PLI scheme. Currently, Apple and Samsung together acco-unt for nearly 60% of global sales revenue of cell phones and with this scheme, these firms are looking to expand their presence in India.

Under the PLI scheme, the government plans to give 4-6% incentive to eligible electronic companies on incremental sales (over base year) of manufactured goods—mobile phones and electronic components such as printed circuit boards, sensors, among others—for a period of five years. The base year over here is 2019-20. The incentives are applicable from 1 August.

Over the next five years, the scheme is expected to lead to a total production worth ₹11.5 trillion, out of which more than 60% will be contributed by exports.

The scheme will bring additional investment in electronics manufacturing to the tune of ₹11,000 crore and create 300,000 direct jobs.

India is putting the final shape on a plan to build at least four Tesla-style giga factories to manufacture batteries with an investment of around $4 billion, as the country prepares to switch to electric vehicles to curb pollution and cut its dependence on foreign oil.

India also plans to offer land near its ports to companies for building solar equipment factories, as it seeks to attain self-reliance and challenge China’s dominance. The plan follows the government’s decision to impose tariff and non-tariff barriers to put a check on imported solar cells and modules that will make their sourcing from China costlier.

Gireesh Chandra Prasad & Shreya Nandi contributed to this story.

utpal.b@livemint.com