PremiumThe central government is taking various measures to make India highly competitive in the global economy, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Saturday. Kant was addressing at the FICCI Annual Convention. The government is also working towards bringing down the cost of logistics, he further added.
The production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for 10 key sectors, which the government announced last month, should spur growth in manufacturing in a big way, Niti Aayog CEO believed.
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"The objective was to provide a major impetus to manufacturing and exports, and this (PLI scheme) is one of the biggest schemes that the government has come out with to support the private sector in manufacturing," he said.
"It is a $26-billion scheme, which provides production-linked incentives in 10 champion sectors and this five years of support should spur growth in manufacturing in a big way," he said.
PLI scheme is a focused scheme, it is not an investment scheme, it is not an investment subsidy scheme, he further explained.
"There are sunrise areas of growth where India must get into," he said. "To make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, we should be able to boost our exports and give rise to economies of scale and we should be able to produce cutting-edge products," he said.
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Kant also noted that PLI schemes for electronics, mobile and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) sectors have already been announced. "And, the PLI scheme for other sectors is going through the process of approval," he said.
The Union Cabinet recently approved PLI scheme worth up to ₹2 lakh crore for 10 manufacturing sectors for next five years. "This move will enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities," said Union minister Prakash Javadekar while announcing the decision.
The 10 key sectors that will get the benefit of production-linked incentive include automobiles and auto components, pharmaceuticals drugs, specialty steel, capital goods, technology products, white goods (ACs and LEDs), telecom and networking products, textiles, high efficiency solar PV modules and advanced battery cells.
