ICRA Executive Vice President and Chief Ratings Officer K Ravichandran has said the PLI scheme is expected to attract investments of Rs 3-4 trillion in the next four years and generate 200,000 jobs as large projects in sectors, including semiconductor, solar module and pharmaceutical intermediaries, are expected to take off.
Ravichandran said that going ahead private sector capex is expected to pick up in oil and gas, metals and mining, hospitals, healthcare and cement sectors. These are the sectors that are expecting large outlay over the medium term. However, taking the private sector capex to record high levels would require the government to give some tax breaks so that people have more disposable income in their hands.
The PLI scheme was announced in 2021 for 14 sectors, including telecommunication, white goods, textiles, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles, speciality steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell batteries, drones, and pharma, with an outlay of Rs 1.97 trillion. PLI schemes have witnessed over Rs 1.03 trillion of investment till November 2023, and employment generation of over 678,000.