Cabinet to take up incentives for the auto industry on Wednesday

he Union cabinet is likely to consider a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for specific segments in the automobile sector on Wednesday, a person familiar with the development said.

This will be part of the overall PLI schemes for 13 sectors announced by the government in the Union Budget 2021-22, with an outlay of Rs1.97 lakh crore. Prepared by the ministry of heavy industries, the latest scheme will cover automobiles and auto components, the person said.

Besides giving a boost to local manufacturing, the scheme is designed to add new jobs and help scale up exports. While fiscal support will boost the bottomline of companies, the government hopes to recover its fund outgo by way of tax collections from the incremental sales in the industry.

The Narendra Modi administration has been recalibrating public policy to attain the goal of self- reliance. Last week, the Cabinet had cleared a PLI scheme for the textile sector with a focus on man-made fibres and technical textiles.

One of the strategies of the government is to encourage the industry to invest in new age technologies and products that will help India claim a place in global markets early on in the development of sunrise industries.

As per official estimates, minimum production in India as a result of PLI schemes is expected to be over $500 billion in five years.

PLI schemes offer incentives on incremental sales from items produced in India, over the base year. Besides scaling up local production, the scheme also seeks to curb cheaper imports and reduce import bills.