Ashwini Vaishnaw sets up 6 task forces to develop component ecosystem – ELE Times

Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that a total of six task forces have been set up to develop the component ecosystem. He made this announcement after the roundtable conference of the 42 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) on the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Telecom.

“We had a meeting of 42 CEOs from various manufacturing companies in the Telecom sector. We interacted and received very good feedback. Some things which have gone very well include the simplicity of the PLI Scheme,” Vaishnaw told.

“A task force has been set up for developing four or five chip sets and then taking those chips from design to manufacturing in India. Another task force was set up for developing highly skilled participants, workers and designers in the telecom sector. There was a task force set up for the simplification of testing, certification and cost-effectiveness. We have set a task force to develop the component manufacturing ecosystem,” he added.

He further asserted that India should become a technology exporter in the coming years, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to make India the telecom technology leader, a global powerhouse of telecom technology.

“During the meeting, CEOs of the industry told us that the PLI scheme in the telecom sector will create around 40, 000 jobs in the country,” Vaishnaw said. The officials from Finance Ministry, Commerce Ministry, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, and NITI Aayog were also present at the meeting.

With the objective to boost domestic manufacturing, investments, and export of telecom and networking products, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) notified the “Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme” on February 24, 2021.

The PLI Scheme has been implemented within the overall financial limits of ₹12,195 crores for implementation of the Scheme over a period of five years. There will be a financial allocation of ₹1000 Crores for the MSME category.

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has been appointed as the Project Management Agency (PMA) for the PLI scheme, which came into effect from April 1, 2021.