PLI spurs ₹3,516 crore white goods investment

Voltas, Blue Star, Hindalco, Uno Minda, and LG are among the 24 companies selected in the third round of applications for the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for White Goods. Collectively, these companies have pledged an investment of ₹3,516 crore.

The third round of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for White Goods has selected 24 companies, including Voltas, Blue Star, Hindalco, Uno Minda, and LG, with a combined investment commitment of ₹3,516 crore. This brings the total number of selected companies to 84, committing ₹10,478 crore and expected to generate ₹1.72 lakh crore in production over the scheme’s duration.

The third application window, open from July 15 to October 12, 2023, received 38 applications—21 from air conditioner (AC) component manufacturers and 17 from LED component makers. Thirteen applications, including two from existing participants, are being reviewed by a Committee of Experts for further recommendations. Companies like Voltas, Blue Star, Hindalco, and LG have increased their commitments, with five firms in the AC components category pledging an additional ₹1,200 crore.

Under the scheme, components such as compressors, copper tubes, control assemblies, heat exchangers, and motors for inverter ACs will be manufactured. In the LED category, products like LED chip packaging, drivers, engines, light management systems, and metalized films for capacitors will be produced domestically.

The PLI scheme, running from 2021-22 to 2028-29, offers 6%-4% incentives on incremental sales for five years after a base year and a one-year gestation period. Domestic value addition in ACs and LEDs is expected to increase from 15-20% to 75-80%.

In the first two rounds, 66 companies committed ₹6,962 crore, with ₹3,259 crore invested by August 2023, resulting in ₹14,911 crore in sales. Production has started in some units, and ₹65 crore in incentives was distributed for 2022-23. An additional ₹298 crore has been allocated for 2023-24, with future rounds expected to require approximately ₹2,000 crore annually in incentives.