From factory floors to innovation centres, India’s manufacturing sector is quietly undergoing a major makeover, driven by strategic policy and industrial ambition. Central to this transformation is the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme: a flagship initiative aimed at elevating the manufacturing share of GDP to 25% and positioning India among the world’s premier manufacturing powerhouses.
With an incentive outlay of ₹1.97 lakh crore and 806 applications approved across 14 strategic sectors, the scheme bears testimony to robust industry confidence and uptake. In alignment with national priorities such as Atmanirbhar Bharat and the $5-trillion economy goal, the PLI scheme fuels Make in India, powers Digital India via electronics and mobile manufacturing, and complements the ₹76,000-crore India Semiconductor Mission to bolster local chip design, fabrication, and display production.
Launched in April 2020, the PLI initiative initially covered mobile manufacturing, electronic components, APIs, and medical devices. Its success prompted an expansion to 14 sectors, including pharmaceuticals, automobiles, textiles, white goods, specialty steel, and more.
With projects backed by both domestic and global players, the scheme has delivered substantial results. By November 2024, committed investments reached ₹1.61 lakh crore; by March 2025, realized investments had climbed to ₹1.76 lakh crore, supported by 806 approved. This performance-linked framework blends incentives with tangible outcomes like production growth and incremental sales.
The impact on key sectors has been transformative. In electronics, production jumped 146%—from ₹2.13 lakh crore in FY 2020-21 to ₹5.25 lakh crore in FY 2024-25, with mobile exports soaring 775%, from ₹22,870 crore to ₹2 lakh crore.
In pharmaceuticals, sales under the scheme crossed ₹2.66 lakh crore, including ₹1.70 lakh crore in exports; India moved from a net importer (₹1,930 crore deficit in FY 2021-22) to a net exporter (₹2,280 crore surplus in FY 2024-25). The food processing sector boasts 171 approved applications, drawing investments over ₹8,910 crore with ₹1,084 crore in incentives disbursed.
The scheme’s cumulative results are striking. By March 2025, PLI programs had attracted ₹1.76 lakh crore in investment, delivered ₹16.5 lakh crore in production, and generated over 12 lakh jobs—both direct and indirect. Incentive payouts, although lower than allocations, still reached ₹21,534 crore by June 2025 across 12 sectors.
In the telecom PLI category, only 21 out of 42 eligible firms received payouts by March 2025, totaling ₹1,162 crore, indicating partial uptake in this domain.