7 firms ready for mobile manufacturing

At least 7 global and Indian companies can apply to take advantage of the Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. The government has launched the PLI scheme to make India a major hub of mobile exports. Companies can apply by July 31 under the scheme, formally announced on Tuesday. According to sources, Foxconn and Wistron, makers of mobile handsets for Apple, Samsung of South Korea, Flextronics and electronic companies offering electronic manufacturing services, Lava International and Micromax can apply to avail incentives under the scheme. However, e-mails sent to Foxconn, Wistron Flextronics and Micromax did not elicit any response.

As far as Chinese companies are concerned, it is not clear at present whether companies like Xiaomi, Vivo or Oppo will be part of the PLI scheme. Muralikrishnan B, Chief Operating Officer of Xiaomi India, welcomed the plan, but did not answer questions such as applying through his vendors. Vivo and Oppo declined to comment on the subject. Under the PLI scheme, global companies will get incentives ranging from 4 to 6 percent over a period of five years, but will have to fulfill three conditions. First of all, these companies will have to export only those mobile handsets, whose (each handset) price will be $ 200. Under the second condition, they should invest Rs 1,000 crore over a period of five years.

Will happen. The third condition will be that companies will have to export products worth Rs 4,000 crore in the first year and by the fifth year this figure will have to be increased to Rs 25,000 crore.

The minimum price of mobile handsets has not been fixed under the scheme for domestic companies. However they also have to be exported. These companies will have to export Rs 100 crore in the first year and Rs 600 crore in the fifth year. They have to invest Rs 200 crore over a period of five years. The government will benefit five global and domestic units under the terms of the PLI scheme. However, if more than 5 applications are received, the eligibility of the companies will be decided on the basis of their global consolidated revenue in the base year.

Lava International said she was going to apply. Company chairman Hariom Rai said, "We will definitely apply. We will increase our manufacturing capacity by 25 percent. In next six months, mobile export capacity will be shifted from China to India and by investing Rs 100 crore, it will increase mobile manufacturing capacity to 50 lakh per month. According to sources, Apple is talking to both its partners and through them it can manufacture phones for export. Foxconn has two units in India.