Department of Telecom increases the telecom PLI incentive by 1%, with added new equipment, and one year extension for the scheme

The Department of Telecom(DoT) has introduced an incentive scheme for design-led manufacturers and extended the period of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for telecom and networking equipment worth Rs 12,195 crore by a year and in order to entice manufacturers, the incentive rate was also increased by 1%,  according to an official statement released on Monday.

The PLI plan, which was notified on February 24, 2021, includes a design led manufacturing incentive, investing Rs 4000 crore from the PLI budget to support 5G design-led manufacturing in India. In addition, DoT has included 11 new telecom and networking devices to the list of equipment that can be manufactured as a part of the project.

According to the statement:"After consultations with stakeholders, the guidelines for the PLI scheme for telecom and networking products have been amended to introduce the Design-led Manufacturing with additional incentive rates."

Existing applicants of the PLI can now pick from the financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23 as their incentive base year, whereas design-led manufacturing candidates can get five years of incentives for investments made after April 1, 2022.

The application process will be available beginning June 21 to July 20. The incentives will be paid out of the remaining Rs 4000 crore of the entire investment.

Under the PLI plan, both micro/small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and non-MSMEs can benefit from the incentives for design-led production. MSMEs must invest a minimum of Rs 10 crore, whereas non-MSMEs must invest a minimum of Rs 100 crore , excluding land and building expenditures. The DoT had authorised submissions for the telecom PLI scheme from almost 31 companies, comprising 16 MSMEs, 7 multi-nationals and 8 local brands.

Nokia solutions and Networks, Foxconn Technology, Ericsson's Jabil subsidiary , Tejas Networks, VVDN Technologies, and Dixon Electro appliances were among the multi-nationals involved. Companies interested in participating in the incentive programme must meet the minimum worlwide revenue requirements. The business may choose to invest in one or more qualifying products.