The government's mobile phone production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme has generated Rs 25,000 crore (yaani Rs 250 billion) in direct tax collections against an incentive payout of Rs 19,000 crore, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a post on X on Wednesday, news agency ANI reported. Vaishnaw added that Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections linked to the sector stood at Rs 3,000 crore. The figures are the minister's own stated numbers, shared while defending the scheme.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

"Electronics manufacturing employs 25 lakh people; mobile manufacturing alone employs 12 lakh," the minister said, according to the ANI report. His remarks came as he refuted a news report questioning the effectiveness of India's mobile manufacturing model and the role of government incentives in the sector, ANI said.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

TelecomLive's report of the minister's post carried the same figures — Rs 25,000 crore in direct taxes against Rs 19,000 crore in incentives paid under the PLI scheme — as the government seeks to expand domestic mobile phone manufacturing, increase local sourcing of components and strengthen India's position in global supply chains.

Source: TelecomLive

In July, the Union Cabinet approved the successor Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) with a budgetary outlay of Rs 62,500 crore, to run from financial year 2026-27 to 2030-31. The scheme offers incentives ranging from 2.25 per cent to 5 per cent on eligible mobile phone sales, an additional incentive of up to 1.5 per cent linked to domestic sourcing of key components and sub-assemblies, and support for Indian mobile brands, including incentives linked to design and research and development, ANI reported.

Source: ANI via LatestLY