Meity plans jobs push in electronic parts PLI

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) is looking at a proposal to generate 1.5-2 direct jobs for every 1 crore invested by companies under the proposed electronic components production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

- SURAJEET DAS GUPTA

If this plan fructifies, a ₹10,000 crore investment under the proposed PLI scheme would bring with it the expectation of creating 15,000-20,000 direct jobs in electronic components sector.

The ministry is also discussing two alternative proposals to link the electronic components PLI scheme with employment generation.

One proposal is to provide eligible companies an additional incentive if they meet their employment commitment year-onyear. The second is to reimburse incentives if eligible companies also meet their mandatory minimum employment targets set by the government.

A senior Meity official said: "At an average overall level, we are looking at generation of direct employment for 1.5-2 people at a minimum for every 1 crore investment made under the PLI scheme." In meetings held between Meity and the stakeholders recently, the latter have raised some key concerns on the scheme.

One is how the government will monitor new job creation due to the peculiarities of the electronics industry.