Govt clears 16 proposals entailing Rs 11K cr funding for making mobiles worth Rs 10.5L cr

New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said it has cleared 16 proposals from domestic and international companies entailing investment of Rs 11,000 crore under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to manufacture mobile phones worth Rs 10.5 lakh crore over the next five years.

The companies include iPhone maker Apple's contract manufacturers Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron and Pegatron, apart from Samsung and Rising Star.

Domestic companies whose proposals have been approved include Lava, Bhagwati (Micromax), Padget Electronics (Dixon Technologies), UTL Neolyncs and Optiemus.

"The Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology (MeitY) has approved 16 eligible applicants under the PLI Scheme," an official statement said.

The companies approved under the scheme will generate more than 2 lakh direct jobs in the next five years, along with indirect employment of nearly three times the direct employment opportunities, the statement said.

"The companies approved under the scheme will bring additional investment in electronics manufacturing to the tune of INR 11,000 crore," MeitY said.

The Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing was notified on April 1, 2020.

It extends an incentive of 4 to 6 per cent on incremental sales (over base year) of goods under target segments that are manufactured in India to eligible companies, for a period of five years subsequent to the base year (2019-20).

"Over the next 5 years, the approved companies under the PLI Scheme are expected to lead to total production of more than Rs 10.5 lakh crore," the statement said. Proposals of six companies in the electronic components segment have also been approved. These companies are AT&S, Ascent Circuits, Visicon, Walsin, Sahasra, and Neolync.