PLI scheme: Govt clears Rs 357 cr for Foxconn India for phone manufacturing

The approval was given by an empowered committee headed by Param Iyer, chief executive officer (CEO), NITI Aayog also comprising department for the promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) secretary Anurag Jain and MeitY secretary Alkesh Kumar Sharma, among others.

Hon Hai Foxconn Technology Group-owned iPhone maker Foxconn India would receive an incentive of Rs 357.17 crore for the period between August 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022.

The incentive is based on its incremental investments and sales figures.

As strict intermittent Covid-19 lockdowns in China hit businesses and disrupted supply chains causing production delays across the world, several businesses are looking to diversify operations from there.

Foxconn, also among one those countries, is the first company with international operations that have been approved under the target segment ‘Mobile Phones’ for this incentive.

Padget Electronics Pvt. Ltd would receive an incentive of Rs 58.29 crore for the January–March 2022 quarter.

The company has manufacturing facilities in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

It also received Rs 53.28 crore under the PLI scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing (LSEM) for the period August–December 2021.

The PLI scheme for Large-Scale Electronics Manufacturing, under MeitY is advancing towards making India a competitive destination for electronics manufacturing and providing a boost to Atmanirbhar Bharat while creating more global champions in this sector.

As of September 2022, the PLI scheme for LSEM has attracted investment of Rs 4,784 crore, and led to total production of Rs 2,03,952 crore, including exports of Rs 80,769 Crore.

The scheme has also generated employment of 40,916. Electronics manufacturing is expected to rise to USD 300 billion by 2025-26.

The PLI scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing had attracted leading global players, including Foxconn, Samsung, Pegatron, Rising Star and Wistron.

Domestic players such as Lava, Micromax, Optiemus, United Telelinks Neolyncs and Padget Electronics also participated.

The production of mobile phones has risen from about 60 million in 2014-15 to approximately 310 million in 2021-22.

The department of telecom (DoT) had notified the PLI scheme for telecom and networking products on February 24, 2021.

It had a financial outlay of Rs 12,195 crore, over the five years.

The core idea of this scheme is to offset the import of telecom equipment worth more than Rs 50,000 crore.

Mobile phone exports during the current year, up to November 2022, have crossed Rs 40,000 crore.

This is more than double the exports made during the same period last year, according to government data.