15 new firms selected under PLI scheme for white goods

New Delhi: As many as 15 companies, including Adani Copper Tubes, LG Electronics and Wipro Enterprises, with committed investment of Rs1,368 crore, have been selected as beneficiaries under the PLI scheme for the white goods sector, the government said on Tuesday. In March, the commerce and industry ministry had reopened the application window for its Rs 6,238-crore PLI scheme for white goods - air-conditioners (ACs) and LED lights - with an aim to accommodate more players as several firms had expressed interest in the initiative.

Last year, as many as 46 firms, including Daikin, Panasonic, Syska and Havells, with committed investment of Rs 5,264 crore were selected in the first round the scheme. In the second round, 19 companies had applied. "After evaluation of the 19 applications received in the second round...15 applicants with committed investment of Rs 1,368 crore have been provisionally selected as beneficiaries," the commerce and industry ministry said.

Four applicants - Zeco Aircon with a committed investment of Rs 100 crore; EMM ESS Aircon (Rs 52 crore); Speedoffer India (Rs 18 crore); and SIMOCO Telecommunications (South Asia) Ltd (Rs 10.63 crore) - are being referred to the Committee of Experts (CoE) for examination and its recommendations, it added. The 15 firms selected include six for manufacturing AC components with committed investments of Rs 908 crore and nine for LED light components with committed investments of Rs 460 crore. "These 15 companies will have total production worth Rs 25,583 crore over five years and generate additional direct employment of 4,000 persons," it said.

The production linked incentive (PLI) scheme on white goods is designed to create a complete component ecosystem for ACs and LED light industry in India and make India an integral part of the global supply chains. The ministry said the scheme is expected to lead to total production of AC and LED lights components of about Rs 1,22,671 crore over five years. Briefing media on this, Anil Agrawal, Additional Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said that as a result of PLI, the domestic value addition in these segments is expected to grow from the current 15-20 per cent to 75-80 per cent. He said the scheme and other regulatory measures including quality control orders, standards and labels had given a big boost to Make In India and Atmanirbhar Bharat in ACs and LEDs.

The ministry said for ACs, companies will be manufacturing copper tubing, compressors, control assemblies, heat exchangers, among others. Similarly, for LED lights, chip packaging, drivers, light management systems and metallized films for capacitors will be manufactured in India. On April 7, 2021, the Union Cabinet gave its approval to the scheme for these goods, to be implemented over 2021-22 to 2028-29 with an outlay of Rs 6,238 crore. The scheme extends an incentive of 6-4 per cent on a reducing basis on incremental sales for a period of five years subsequent to the base year and one year of gestation period.