New Delhi: Several departments have started accepting applications for disbursements of incentives under the production linked incentive (PLI) schemes on a quarterly basis to fast-track clearance of claims, a senior government official said. The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) has suggested others also follow the same practice. "In many departments, we have started accepting quarterly applications. Others also, we are telling them to do except in some cases, where they are finding it difficult to do like food processing, where the numbers are small," the official said.

The development assumes significance as certain quarters of PLI beneficiaries have urged the departments for timely disbursement of claims. The PLI scheme was announced in 2021 for 14 sectors, including telecommunication, white goods, textiles, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles, speciality steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell batteries, drones, and pharma, with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore. So far, only Rs 9,700 crore has been disbursed to PLI beneficiaries, which is about 5 per cent of the total estimates. In 2023-24, the figure was Rs 6,800 crore, the official said.

Earlier the scheme guidelines stated that applications for incentives can be submitted after the end of the financial year to which the claim pertains. Annual claims can be submitted only once and within nine months of the end of the financial year. In February, economic think tank GTRI (Global Trade Research Initiative) flagged the slow progress in the disbursement of sops under the schemes and suggested the government to simplify the criteria to expedite the grant of incentives and push domestic manufacturing.

PLI criteria for various sectors include thresholds on investments, production, sales, degree of localisation, inputs used and many more. Manufacturers may not be able to tick on all boxes, GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava has said. PLI schemes for 14 sectors have attracted over Rs 1.06 lakh crore investments till December 2023 with pharma and solar modules accounting for nearly half of the total, according to government data. When asked about disbursement under the PLI scheme for white goods (AC and LED lights), the official said: "We have exceeded the target of Rs 70 crore".