The industry leaders and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on Wednesday welcomed the government’s revised Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for IT hardware that included laptops, servers and tablets.

The revised PLI scheme has increased its budgetary outlay to Rs 17,000 crore and expanded its tenure to six years.

With an anticipated incremental investment of Rs 2,430 crore, the scheme aims to generate an incremental production amounting to Rs 3,35,000 crore.

Moreover, the PLI 2.0 is expected to create 75,000 direct jobs along with over 2,00,000 indirect jobs, significantly increasing employment opportunities in the sector.

“This well-drafted scheme embodies Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to establishing India as a global electronics manufacturing hub. It will ensure investments across the IT hardware value chain, demonstrating the government’s receptiveness to industry inputs and their determination to translate words into action,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA).

The IT hardware industry is targeted to reach a production of $24 billion by 2025-26, with exports anticipated to be in the range of $12-17 billion during the same period.

“This revised PLI scheme will not only foster domestic manufacturing but also likely benefit major global manufacturers of IT hardware products such as laptops and tablets,” Mohindroo added.

An HP spokesperson told IANS that the company has a long history of manufacturing in India and is committed to its business in the country.

“We are currently evaluating details of the programme along with its potential benefits to HP and its customers,” said the company spokesperson.

Rajen Vagadia, VP, Qualcomm India and President, Qualcomm India and SAARC, told IANS that the PLI Scheme 2.0 will accelerate the domestic IT Hardware manufacturing ecosystem in India and enable businesses to grow beyond regional markets.

“Following the PLI Scheme’s success in establishing a robust, globally recognized foundation for smartphone manufacture, PLI 2.0 will strengthen India’s electronic and IT hardware industry further and its presence in the global value chain,” said Vagadia.

Domestic mobile phone manufacturing has set a strong precedent of large-scale manufacturing and exports.

The mobile phone export sector has achieved 100 per cent export growth, crossing Rs 90,000 crore in exports for the first time ever in FY 2022-23.

A. Gururaj, MD, Optiemus Electronics, said they are manufacturing IT Hardware for many reputed brands under the current PLI and now with the PLI 2.0, “we are actively considering and evaluating our options to participate in this new phase of growth in electronics manufacturing”.