NT NETWORK

Panaji

After the Union government announced extending the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for air conditioners recently, the Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) has suggested changes in the PLI scheme to boost air conditioner (AC) manufacturing in the country.

Reacting on the PLI announcement for ACs, Kamal Nandi, president of CEAMA, on Friday, said that, it is a step towards making India self-reliant in a category that has exponential growth potential.

“This scheme will bring the entire value chain on-shore and enable India to play a more significant role globally, while creating employment opportunities locally. However towards a holistic growth of the sector, it is highly desired that the finished goods are also considered for incentivising, in addition to components, under the
PLI scheme.”

Nandi who is the business head and executive vice president of Godrej Appliances, said that, given the low penetration of this category, the domestic demand also needs be boosted by making ACs more affordable, and that could be facilitated through reducing the GST from 28 per cent to 18 per cent.

“This will provide the highly desired scalability to the AC production that in turn will enhance the sector’s competitiveness,”
he said.

CEAMA has been a strong advocate of growing domestic manufacturing and is proud to have worked closely with DPIIT in making PLI a reality,”
he added.