How PLI Schemes For Electronics, Pharma, Food Processing Are Progressing

Top government officials announced on Saturday (9 December) that the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes have successfully achieved their goals, including the localisation of medical technologies, bulk drugs, electronics, and specialty steel, among other things.

According to the Economic Times, during the 96th Annual Convention of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), IT secretary, S Krishnan, also revealed that the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) rules will be finalised in the coming weeks.

Krishnan stated that the DPDP Act successfully strikes a balance between the requirement for regulation and the security of personal data, while also fostering innovation. The broadly acceptable act has found its middle ground, and its rules are expected to be released in the upcoming weeks. This is set to culminate a productive year in terms of regulation.

Krishnan emphasised the importance of increasing the localisation of electronic goods in India, pointing out that even China doesn't have more than 40-45 per cent of the value chain in this sector. He noted that India's current value chain only constitutes about 10-15 per cent of the total value addition, with most of the assembly line inputs being imported.

Krishnan stressed that if India is to remain competitive after the PLI scheme ends, it's crucial to aim for at least 30-35 per cent of the value chain, including components, to be domestically produced.

Anita Praveen, Secretary of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, highlighted that the PLI for Food Processing is progressing as planned. She noted that over 2 lakh jobs have been created, supplementing the existing 80 lakh in this industry.

Praveen added that the ministry is aiming to achieve its investment goal by March 2024 under the PLI. She also mentioned that the ministry's forthcoming emphasis will be on the development of smaller units, which are expected to yield the most significant growth for the industry.

Arunish Chawla, who is the Secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, acknowledged the triumph of the PLI programs. He stated that the formulation scheme is performing exceedingly well, surpassing all set targets by a full 100 per cent.

Chawla acknowledged that manufacturing bulk drugs was the most significant hurdle under PLI, but considerable advancements have been made. He proudly announced that 33 bulk drugs have already commenced production. Notably, for the first time in the industry's history, the import volume of bulk drugs matched the export volume last year, marking a significant milestone.

He further highlighted that the production of 136 products has commenced under the PLI for medical devices, marking a significant shift from the previous situation where the country relied on imports for 90 per cent of its needs. He added that global giants such as Siemens and GE have started manufacturing advanced equipment, including imaging and cancer therapy devices, within the country.

Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, also contributed to the discussion by stating that awards for green hydrogen production incentives are imminent. He noted that green hydrogen will soon begin to circulate in the pipeline and that commitments have been received for 5.8 million metric tonnes (MMT) of green hydrogen, surpassing the expected 5 MMT.

"The interest from overseas investors is quite significant. We anticipate that an investment of Rs 27 lakh crore will be required for the addition of RE capacity. Approximately 70 per cent of this sum will be in the form of debt, a large portion of which must originate from India," he further stated.