The Union cabinet has approved two Production Linked Investment (PLI) schemes on white goods and solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. The schemes are part of the umbrella PLI policy for 13 sectors, out of which nine have been approved. The remaining four are under advanced stages of approval, the government said.
The high efficiency solar PV PLI scheme will have an allocation of Rs 4,500 crore aimed at creating capacity of 10,000 MW. The scheme is expected to generate 30,000 direct and 1.2 lakh indirect jobs in the sector.
"A detailed set of guidelines will be issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) soon. Incremental sales benefit for LED and air conditioner manufacturing will be approximately 2-6 percent. For the solar PV manufacturing, the scheme will be linked on the efficiency of solar PV module and depend on green or brownfield projects," said Minister for Commerce and Railways Piyush Goyal.
The government has approved an outlay of Rs 6,238 crore for manufacturing LED and air conditioners components through the PLI scheme.
Kamal Nandi, President CEAMA and Business Head & Executive Vice President – Godrej Appliances said on the PLI for ACs: "The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for Air Conditioners that was approved today 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 its components, under the PLI scheme . Further, 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% to 18%. This will provide the highly desired scalability to the AC production, in turn, will enhance the sector’s competitiveness. CEAMA has been a strong advocate of growing domestic manufacturing and is proud to have worked closely with DPIIT in making PLI a reality."
MD of Vikram Solar Gyanesh Chaudhary said, "This is a welcome move that reiterates the government’s intent supported with policy actions to enable an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. The PLI scheme with an outlay of Rs. 4,500 crore for higher efficiency solar PV modules will boost domestic manufacturing, job-creation, attract investments and reduce solar imports. With this decisive step towards creating a self-sustaining ecosystem for solar equipment manufacturing in India, we are confident that India is well-poised to become the manufacturing hub for renewable energy technologies.
"At Vikram Solar, we are confident of capitalizing on the new opportunities with our state-of-art technologies, manufacturing prowess and diversified product portfolio. The PLI scheme will aid our growth and unwavering resolve in shaping the solar revolution. Vikram solar will remain at the forefront of partnering with the government in building the new, energy rich, and self-reliant India.”
The 13 sectors approved for the PLI scheme are expected to generate of Rs 33 lakh crore worth of additional output over the next five years.