Samsung skips telecom PLI scheme; Ericsson participates through Jabil

South Korean electronics major Samsung has not applied for the production-linked incentive scheme for telecom gear manufacturing, while Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson is participating through its vendor Jabil Circuit.

The government is learnt to have received 37 applications for the scheme, including from leading global manufacturers like Foxconn and its subsidiary Rising Star, Flex, Sanmina SCI and Nokia as well as Indian companies Dixon Technologies, HFCL and Coral Telecom.

Also read: Looking for a smartphone? Check Mobile Finder here. 

"Samsung has not applied for the scheme," an official source told PTI.

An email query sent to Samsung did not elicit any reply.

Samsung supplies telecom gear to telecom major Reliance Jio.

Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson confirmed that it is participating in the PLI scheme through its vendor Jabil Circuit.

"We are pleased to confirm our participation in the PLI scheme for the telecom sector through our partner Jabil. Being the first telecom vendor to start manufacturing in India in 1994, the additional investments made under the PLI scheme will help us scale up our Pune facilities where we are currently manufacturing 4G and 5G telecom equipment," Ericsson India head Nitin Bansal said.

Under the scheme, an investor can get incentives for incremental sales up to 20 times the committed investment, enabling it to reach global scales and utilise unused capacity and ramp up production.

The scheme will be effective from April 1, 2021.

"We stay committed to India and look forward to the opportunity of helping Indian service providers seamlessly evolve their networks from 4G to 5G," Bansal added.

Investments made by successful applicants in India from April 1, 2021, onwards and up to the financial year 2024-25 will be eligible for incentives, subject to qualifying incremental annual thresholds.

The support under the scheme will be provided for a period of five years from FY22 to FY26.

The scheme is expected to bring an investment of over ₹3,000 crore and generate tax revenue of about ₹17,000 crore.

The government expects that the scheme will encourage the production of equipment worth ₹2.44 lakh crore, with exports of around ₹2 lakh crore over a period of five years.