Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing

What is the PLI Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing?

Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing is a Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) scheme notified on 1 April 2020 under Gazette Notification No. CG-DL-E-01042020-218990. The scheme pays companies a percentage of their incremental sales of mobile phones and specified electronic components manufactured in India, measured against the base year 2019-20.

State plainly what this is: a corporate incentive scheme, not a citizen benefit. No individual can apply. The scheme exists to shift global mobile phone assembly and component manufacturing into India by offsetting the cost disadvantage of manufacturing here, an estimated 8.5% to 11% gap arising from infrastructure, logistics, financing and supply chain limitations.

Key objectives

• Attract large-scale investment in mobile phone and electronic component manufacturing in India.
• Build a domestic electronics supply chain rather than an import-and-assemble model.
• Grow electronics exports and reduce dependence on imported handsets.

Main features

• Incentive of 4% to 6% of incremental sales of eligible goods over the base year.
• Base year FY 2019-20; incentive period of five years.
• Applications processed through IFCI Ltd as Project Management Agency.
• Separate segments for mobile handsets and for specified electronic components, including ATMP units.
• A second round covered specified electronic components at incentive rates tapering from 5% to 3% over four years.

Who is eligible for the PLI scheme for large scale electronics manufacturing?

Companies can apply if they:

• Are registered in India and manufacturing goods covered by the target segments, mobile phones or specified electronic components.
• Meet the threshold incremental investment in plant, machinery, equipment and associated utilities prescribed for their segment. Different thresholds applied to the global-company handset segment, the domestic-company handset segment and the components segment.
• Achieve the threshold incremental sales of manufactured goods over the base year 2019-20 in each claim year.
• Applied within the application window, which is now closed.

You cannot apply if:

• You are an individual, sole proprietor seeking a personal benefit, student or job seeker. There is no citizen-facing component to this scheme at all.
• You are a company that did not apply during the open window. The IFCI PLI portal states that the "application window has been closed".
• Your products fall outside the notified target segments.
• You fail to meet the investment or incremental sales thresholds in a claim year. In that case, incentive for that year is forfeited even if investment was made. The scheme pays on outcomes, not intentions.

A further practical exclusion matters: incentive is calculated on sales above the 2019-20 base, so a company whose sales stagnate at base-year levels receives nothing regardless of how much capital it deployed.

How much incentive does the PLI scheme pay?

The first round of the scheme pays 4% to 6% of incremental sales of eligible goods manufactured in India, over the base year 2019-20, for five years. The higher 6% rate applies to the earlier years of the incentive period and tapers towards 4%.

The scheme was structured around distinct handset segments; one aimed at global companies manufacturing higher-value handsets, and one reserved for domestic companies at lower price points, with electronic components forming a separate segment. A second round of the scheme, covering specified electronic components, applied incentive rates tapering from 5% to 3% over four years against the same 2019-20 base year.

On the total outlay, government sources cite different figures: roughly Rs 38,600 crore to Rs 41,000 crore across PIB releases and MeitY documents, with subsequent budgetary revisions. Because the figures do not reconcile across official sources and MeitY's own portal blocks automated retrieval, treat the outlay as approximate and check the gazette notification for the operative number.

What has the scheme achieved?

According to a PIB release covering the scheme, 32 companies were approved under PLI for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing, of which 10 were for mobile phone manufacturing — 5 global and 5 domestic companies. Those 32 companies committed investment of around Rs 11,324 crore against a projected production target of about Rs 10.7 lakh crore.

On realised outcomes, PIB reported cumulative investment of Rs 8,282 crore by the approved companies as at mid-2024, with mobile phones and components worth over Rs 5.14 lakh crore produced under the scheme. Government statements in 2025 and 2026 indicate the scheme has catalysed roughly Rs 96,000 crore of investment across the mobile production ecosystem, and that incentive disbursement across electronics PLI schemes had reached the order of Rs 15,554 crore.

What documents are required from an applicant company?

How to apply for the PLI scheme for large scale electronics manufacturing

The application window is closed. The process below is recorded for reference and for companies managing existing claims under the scheme.

1. Open the PLI portal operated by IFCI Ltd at pli.ifciltd.com, the Project Management Agency appointed by MeitY.
2. Register the applicant company with its corporate identity number, PAN and GST registration, and create login credentials.
3. Select the target segment: mobile phone manufacturing at the applicable handset segment, or specified electronic components including ATMP.
4. Upload the detailed project report, setting out the committed incremental investment in plant, machinery, equipment and R&D, and the projected incremental sales year by year.
5. Submit audited financial statements for FY 2019-20 to fix the base year sales figure against which all incentive is calculated.
6. Attach the board resolution authorising the application and the declarations required by the scheme guidelines.
7. Pay the prescribed application fee and submit before the window closes.
8. After approval, file annual incentive claims through the same portal, each supported by a statutory auditor's certificate of eligible incremental sales and evidence of the investment made.

What replaced this scheme for new applicants?

MeitY has moved on to successor schemes rather than reopening this window. Companies looking for current electronics manufacturing support should examine the PLI Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware and the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme, both notified separately, as well as the Semicon India Programme for semiconductor fabrication and packaging.

Each has its own eligibility, incentive structure and application window, and none of them is open to individuals either.

Where companies get help with PLI

• IFCI Ltd, Project Management Agency: pli@ifciltd.com, and the PLI helpdesk contact listed on the portal, +91 93190 19068
• IFCI Tower, 61 Nehru Place, New Delhi, the PMA's registered address
• PLI portal: pli.ifciltd.com, claim filing and scheme documents
• MeitY, scheme guidelines and gazette notifications

A note on sourcing: MeitY's website returns an access error to automated retrieval, so scheme parameters here were verified against the IFCI PLI portal, PIB press releases, and the scheme summary published by the electronics industry association ELCINA. Where official figures conflict, this guide states the range rather than picking one.