Unused amount from the planned Rs. 1.97 lakh crore under Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes may be redirected to other sectors or reworked schemes, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said at a press conference on Friday.

Singh said that the schemes witnessing undersubscription will require tweaking, and that deliberations are under different stages of interministerial discussion — no timeline can be predicted so far.

Meanwhile, Singh said Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) recently achieved the milestone of 1 lakh transactions a day,

According to Singh, the adoption of Quality Control Orders (QCOs) has been a key driver in this endeavour. Notably, QCOs have proven to be effective not only in elevating the quality of products but also in curbing the inflow of inexpensive and low-quality imports that undermine the domestic market.

A glimpse into the data reveals the remarkable impact of these initiatives. As of now, a whopping 733 applications have been approved under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, resulting in a substantial investment of over Rs 78,000 crore. This substantial influx of capital has, in turn, led to the creation of over four lakh jobs across various sectors. The strategic design of the PLI schemes, emphasising attracting investment as a first step, has yielded tangible results, as evidenced by the 76 percent increase in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) component during the FY 2021-22, attributed directly to these schemes.

The PLI schemes have not only spurred investment but also ensured value addition across industries, thereby strengthening the manufacturing base of the country. Sectors such as large-scale electronics, food processing, and white goods have emerged as success stories, demonstrating the efficacy of well-defined qualification criteria. However, some sectors like automobiles and white goods are set to reveal their full potential post-October.

The application of Quality Control Orders (QCOs) is a strategic step to address the historical challenge of substandard imports and raise the bar of product quality. While India had traditionally underutilised QCOs due to a lack of quality consciousness in the system, this scenario has undergone a transformative change. As a testament to this shift, 33 QCOs have been issued for 127 products under the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, spanning diverse sectors. The road ahead unveils even more ambitious plans, with 60 new QCOs in collaboration with BIS underway.

ONDC's ascendancy continues, with its footprint now extending to over 360 cities in India, spanning across a plethora of categories. The growth in the Business-to-Business (B2B) domain further underscores the platform's indispensability in modern commerce. Currently hosting a staggering 60 major buyer apps and 47 seller apps, ONDC has etched itself as a cornerstone of India's digital economic framework.

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