Out of the 42 companies, 17 got approval under the design-linked manufacturing scheme, which was launched in June 2022 under the existing PLI scheme.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Monday approved 42 companies, including Samsung, Nokia and Jabil, under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for manufacturing of telecom and networking products.

Under the scheme, the companies have committed to make investments worth Rs 4,115 crore, which is expected to generate additional sales of Rs 2.45 trillion and create 44,000 more jobs, the communications ministry said.

Out of the 42 companies, 17 got approval under the design-linked manufacturing scheme, which was launched in June 2022 under the existing PLI scheme. These companies will be eligible for an additional 1% incentive over and above the existing incentives of 4-7% for designing and manufacturing products in India.

Apart from the big companies, local telecom equipment makers such as Tejas Networks, HFCL and ITI have also got approval under the scheme.

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In February last year, the government had introduced the PLI scheme for manufacturing of telecom and networking equipment with an outlay of Rs 12,195 crore over a five-year period. The government in June approved 31 companies, including Dixon Technologies, Nokia India and Foxconn, to manufacture telecom equipment under the scheme.

In June this year, the government amended the existing scheme to include design-led manufacturers into it. The existing companies under the PLI scheme for telecom and networking products were allowed to add more products and apply under the design-led PLI scheme and were also given the benefit of shifting their five-year PLI scheme period by one year.

As per the changes, the companies were given an option to choose FY22 or FY23 as the first year of incentive, while the duration of the scheme remains five years.

In the revised scheme, 22 companies, including 13 fresh applicants, have availed the opportunity of shifting their first year to claim incentives.

“The enthusiastic response from domestic and global manufacturers to the concrete steps taken by the government to encourage manufacturing in telecom equipment indicates strong confidence in initiatives of the government. India is poised to emerge as design and manufacturing hub for telecom and networking equipment,” the communications ministry said.

For the design-linked scheme, the government has kept aside Rs 4,000 crore as incentives out of the total outlay of Rs 12,195 crore.

https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/telecom-products-pli-samsung-nokia-among-42-selected/2760633/