Samsung exits telecom gear PLI; scheme disbursals drag

Samsung had topped the smartphone PLI scheme, but did not start on telecom production

- Jatin Grover

South Korea's Samsung, which had a blockbuster run under India’s smartphone incentives scheme, has dropped out of a similar scheme to build telecom gear, government data showed. The ₹12,195 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme was introduced in February 2021 to encourage the local manufacture of equipment such as network switches, transmission gear and set-top boxes.

Out of the scheme’s 42 applicants, 19 including Samsung have not claimed or received any incentive, data showed. Only 15% of the scheme’s outlay was actually disbursed, even as its five-year run ends this month.

Companies which have chosen FY23 as base year will have one year left (FY27) to claim incentives on incremental sales, whereas investments under the scheme were only allowed till FY26 for all the scheme participants.