19 applications received under PLI for white goods

The Ministry of Commerce, in its second round of applications under the PLI scheme, has mentioned that it received investment commitments from 19 companies for air conditioners and LED lights. The funds totaled INR 1,548 crore.

Production goals

The statement further added that over the next five years, these 19 companies are expected to achieve production worth INR 26,880 crore of components for air conditioners and LED lights.

For air conditioners, eight companies will manufacture copper tubing, compressors, control assemblies for indoor units (IDUs) or outdoor units (ODUs), heat exchangers, and brushless DC (BLDC) motors, among other components. For LED lights, 11 companies will undertake manufacturing LED chip packaging, LED drivers, LED engines, LED light management systems, and metalized films for capacitors. 

During the earlier round of the scheme that happened last year, the government had allocated 42 firms with the beneficiaries committing investments totaling INR 4,614 crore.

The scheme is expected to lead the total production of components for both ACs and LEDs in the country to about INR 107,134 crore.

Employment opportunities

According to the statement, the scheme will generate about 200,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities. It will also bring a cumulative investment of INR 7,074 crore in the component manufacturing ecosystem of the air conditioners, and the LED lights industries

About the PLI

The PLI scheme for white goods was started with a US$ 0.84 billion investment, with the goals of reducing barriers within the sector, increasing production, creating jobs, and improving export performance. The initiative, according to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, would establish national champions in the domain and will aim to generate more than US$ 500 billion in material exports over the next five years. LED lights and air conditioners are among the items covered by the PLI.