Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Friday (22 July) said that as many as 61 companies have set up white goods components manufacturing plants across 14 States and UT in India.
Speaking at the high level DPIIT-FICCI Investor Roundtable on PLI for White Goods in New Delhi, Goyal expressed happiness with demand from AC and LED sector to open them for Free Trade Agreements and said that the industry should now aim at becoming global champions, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.
“You want to become global champions. You want to compete with the rest of the world on an equal footing from a position of strength. India is not a weak country. We are not looking for sops. We are not scared of any competition. That’s the message this room should give out to rest of the world”, Goyal said.
The minister said that the PLI initiative was part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of converting crisis into an opportunity.
He expressed happiness at the success of PLI in White Goods saying that there were 61 companies that had set up components manufacturing plants pan India at 111 Locations across 14 States and UT, and were generating employment, the ministry said.
The minister said that the White Goods sector with focus on Airconditioning and LEDs was one of the first sectors which was identified as the low-hanging fruit for encouraging the domestic manufacturing.
The Union Cabinet had given approval to the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for White Goods (Air Conditioners and LED lights) to be implemented over FY2021-22 to FY2028-29 with an outlay of Rs 6,238 crore on 7 April last year.
Under the scheme, 61 applicants are approved and are expected to bring investments in component manufacturing eco-system of ACs and LED Lights industry to the tune of Rs 6,632 crore and generate approximately 46,368 direct employment opportunities, the ministry said.
The scheme is expected to lead to total production of components of ACs and LED Lights of about Rs 1,22,671 crore over five years.
The investments committed under the White Goods PLI are spread across India, which, according to the ministry, will also promote a balanced economic development of the country.
These units are located across states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Rajasthan and West Bengal and the Union Territory of Daman and Diu, the ministry said.