New Delhi: Responding to requests for government intervention in visa-related issues for Chinese vendors, Union minister for commerce Piyush Goyal said that the government is expediting the process for all relevant countries to ensure the implementation of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
“If those under the PLI scheme need to get their equipment installed, we try to expedite the ability to get technicians into India from any country, whichever it may be,” Goyal told Business Standard.
Goyal’s response comes at a time when the industry is seeking government intervention to resolve visa-processing delays for Chinese vendors involved in manufacturing projects.
The visa hurdles have resulted in productivity issues for companies in areas like component manufacturing and installation or repair of machinery under the PLI scheme, the Business Standard reported.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and other government departments are working alongside the external affairs ministry to alleviate the problem, particularly for visa issues concerning Chinese technicians and experts.
According to the report, the Union home ministry is also finalising a standard operating procedure to streamline the process for obtaining Indian business visas under PLI schemes.
Also read: PLI Scheme Shows Flaw in Govt’s Approach as Subsidies Fail to Address Demand Shortage
The PLI scheme was launched in 2020 to boost domestic manufacturing. Initially covering three sectors – mobile manufacturing and electric components, pharmaceutical, and medical device manufacturing – the scheme was expanded to cover 14 sectors including telecommunications, textiles and automotives among others.
Delays in visa-related issues have affected the PLI scheme in sectors such as solar PV modules, speciality steel, and white goods, the report said.
While the scheme aimed to provide a subsidy of Rs 1.9 lakh crore over six years, as of March 2023, only Rs 3,400 crore in claims had been received and Rs 2,900 crore disbursed. The scheme was projected to boost production by Rs 38 lakh crore. However, 2023 figures indicate a much lower boost of around Rs 60,000 crore.
‘PLI not for every sector’
Former NITI Aayog chief executive officer Amitabh Kant, in a post on X, said that PLI is not a substitute for the fundamental factors affecting domestic manufacturing, adding, that the scheme was only meant for select sectors.
“As we approach the Budget, there is a growing demand from every sector of the Indian economy for Production Linked Incentives (PLI). This reflects a misunderstanding of the PLI scheme. PLI cannot address the challenges in every sector; it was designed to achieve global scale and competitiveness in a few key sunrise sectors within five years, creating champions in manufacturing.
Our aim must be on making India productively efficient and globally competitive. This involves reducing the cost of power and logistics, ensuring land availability, providing skilled manpower, and simplifying rules and regulations. PLI is not a substitute for these fundamental factors of production. Achieving our manufacturing goals requires hard, committed work,” Kant said.
Failure of ‘Make in India’
Union government’s much touted ‘Make in India’ scheme marked its 10th year in 2023. Like PLI, the scheme was launched with the aim to boost domestic production by increasing manufacturing growth by 12-14% per annum; increasing the share of manufacturing in the GDP to 25% by 2022; and creating 100 million jobs in the manufacturing sector by 2022.
However, none of these targets were achieved. The manufacturing growth rate has averaged 5.9% since 2013-14, the share of manufacturing has remained stagnant and was at 16.4% in 2022-23, and manufacturing jobs halved between 2016 and 2021. The decade since the scheme’s launch also saw the share of manufacturing in the workforce decline from 12.6% in 2011-12 to 11.6% in 2021-22.
