PLI Scheme in Telecom Infra: DoT To Issue Guidelines Within A Week

Less than a week after the Government noted the 'keen interest' by international telecom infra makers, DoT has made another crucial announcement related to the PLI Scheme in Telecom Infra.

PLI Scheme Guidelines Coming Soon

According to government officials, the DoT will issue the guidelines on the PLI Scheme for manufacturers in the sector. The department will also likely start inviting applications for the same in about a week.

Notably, telecom gear makers are looking to expand their manufacturing India. These makers include Ericsson and Nokia. Moreover, global organizations like Samsung, Cisco, Ciena and Foxconn have "shown interest" to set up manufacturing bases. These bases will focus on making telecom and networking products for domestic and export markets. Moreover, local makers such as  VVDN Technologies, Dixon, HFCL, Coral Telecom and Sterlite have also shown interest in the scheme.

The official told PTI that the PLI "has already been approved by the government". Adding to the developments, the official noted that the DoT "is ready with guidelines to implement it". Furthemore, the official also noted that formats for paperwork such as application format, incentive allocation were also ready. Lastly, the DoT will publish the guidelines within a week, as per the official.

PLI Scheme in Telecom Infra

The DoT first notified the PLI scheme on February 24, 2021, with a financial outlay of Rs 12,195 crore, over five years. Notably, this scheme will encourage production worth Rs 2.44 lakh crore. Also, the scheme will create 40,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The PLI scheme aims to reshape India into a global manufacturing hub, which can rival China and make India a net exporter in terms of telecom and networking infrastructure. The government is also planning an extensive outreach program, partnering with the Invest India team.

Under the current scheme, the investors can earn incentive for incremental sales up to 20 times the committed investment. Along with this, the scheme will bring an investment of over Rs 3,000 crore and generate tax revenue of about Rs 17,000 crore.