E-Paper
Around ₹30cr disbursed by government under drone PLI scheme: Official
The total financial outlay for 3 years (starting FY 2021-22) under the PLI scheme is ₹120 crore, nearly double the combined turnover of all domestic drone manufacturers in FY 2020-21
The government has disbursed around ₹30 crore during fiscal year (FY) 2022-23 under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for 12 drone manufacturers and 11 drone component manufacturers, a government official confirmed to HT.
The development comes after a provisional list of 23 PLI beneficiaries that was released on July 6 last year.
“This scheme is of great financial support to start-up and small-scale entrepreneurs growing at a faster pace. A few of the beneficiaries of the scheme include Throttle Aerospace system, IdeaForge, Absolute Composites Pvt. Ltd and Aereo,” an official from the aviation ministry said.
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A government official said the PLI rate is 20% of the value addition which is one of the highest among PLI schemes and unlike other sectors where the rate reduces every year, in drones it remains the same throughout the three years.
“The eligibility norm for Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and startups is at nominal levels and the coverage of the scheme also includes developers of drone-related software,” the official said, adding that the PLI for a manufacturer will be capped at 25% of total annual outlay, allowing widening number of beneficiaries.
“We are very happy to see our industry members receive the PLI incentives. The incentive amount for FY 21-22 was indicatively allocated as ₹16 crore when the scheme was announced. It is heartening to see the government’s decision of disbursing incentives higher than the indicative limit and fulfilling the claims of all eligible manufacturers. We are excited with the progress of the scheme and would humbly request the government to consider increasing the budget of the scheme to accommodate more manufacturers to incentivise the rapid growth of the Indian drone ecosystem,” Drone Federation of India (DFI)’s president Smit Shah told HT.
Notified on September 30, 2021, the PLI scheme is not only a boost to the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat but also a great way to decrease India’s dependency on imports and increase exports.
With this scheme, the government also aims to make India a drone hub by 2030.
The total financial outlay for 3 years (starting FY 2021-22) under the PLI scheme is ₹120 crore, nearly double the combined turnover of all domestic drone manufacturers in FY 2020-21.
