PLI scheme for white goods: 38 firms commit investments worth Rs 4,121 crore

New Delhi: In a boost for local manufacturing, 38 companies have applied for the PLI scheme for white goods (air conditioners and LED lights) with a net committed investment of Rs 4,121 crore in the third round, the government informed on Monday.

The third round of the online application window ended on October 12 after being open for 90 days from July 15.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, about 43 per cent of the new applicants are in the MSME sector which shows the confidence among MSMEs to become part of the value chain of manufacturing of components of ACs and LED lights.

The scheme is expected to bring in investment in the component manufacturing ecosystem of the ACs and LED lights industry to the tune of Rs 11,083 crore and generate about 80,486 direct employment.

The scheme is expected to lead to a total production of components of ACs and LEDs in India of about Rs 1,81,975 crore.

The applicants include eight existing beneficiaries of the PLI scheme for white goods (PLIWG), committing a net incremental investment of Rs 1,285 crore. Thirty new applicants have committed an investment of Rs 2,836 crore proposing to manufacture varieties of critical components of ACs and LED lights across the country.

"Manufacturing clusters are coming up at Noida-Greater Noida in UP, Neemrana and Bhiwadi in Rajasthan, Aurangabad-Pune in Maharashtra, Sanad, Gujarat and Sri City in Andhra Pradesh," said the ministry.

Six AC manufacturers and 12 component manufacturers are in Sri City.

Five additional foreign companies are investing Rs 245 crore, apart from 15 existing companies investing Rs 2,287 crore. According to the ministry, as regards to the bifurcation between two segments of the PLIWG scheme -- ACs and LED lights -- 21 applicants have applied for manufacturing components of ACs with a committed investment of Rs 3,679 crore and 18 applicants for components of LED lights with a committed investment of Rs 442 crore.

Several applicants are vendors for large manufacturers such as Daikin, Voltas, Blue Star and LG Electronics in the ACs sector. Similarly, several applicants are suppliers of LED components for large LED lights manufacturers like Surya, Orient, Crompton Greaves, Signify, and Halonix etc.