Capex Under PLI/DLI to Touch Rs 2.5 Lakh Cr by March 2026
Of the total expected capex of close to Rs 4 lakh crore envisaged under the schemes, Rs 1.8 lakh crore had been invested as of March 2025.
Chennai: Around Rs 2.5 lakh crore or around 65 per cent capex would have been made by the private sector under the Production Linked Incentive and Design Linked Incentive schemes by March 2026. By then 16 per cent of the incentives would be disbursed.
Of the total expected capex of close to Rs 4 lakh crore envisaged under the schemes, Rs 1.8 lakh crore had been invested as of March 2025. ICRA projects Rs 2.5 lakh crore of aggregate capex to be incurred by March 2026, which is around 65 per cent of the total estimated capex for the scheme.
Against this, only 16 per cent of the total incentive outlay of Rs 3 lakh crore would be disbursed or would become eligible to be disbursed by end-FY2026. Companies will become eligible to receive the balance incentives as and when incremental production or sales is achieved over time.
While the PLI scheme is broadly meeting its objectives in terms of incentivising private sector investments, several sectors are behind the curve in respect of the desired investment timelines, with progress varying by sectors.
For some of the sectors such as drones and mobile phones, the outlay utilisation is high as of March 2025. The drones PLI is benefitting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and the food products PLI is supporting farmers and the rural economy.
However, for some other capital-intensive sectors like solar PV modules and ACC batteries the utilisation is lower. Some entities have experienced operational delays in terms of regulatory, infrastructure, and supply chain as well as delays in receiving incentives.
The capex deployment has led to incremental sales of around Rs 16.5 lakh crore as of March 2025 and exports had surpassed Rs. 5.3 lakh crore till November 2024 with significant contributions from sectors such as large scale electronics manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food processing, and telecom and networking products.
As per the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the scheme has generated direct and indirect employment for 12 lakh individuals between FY2022-FY2025.