Government plans to boost robotics, manufacturing, export of drones

The Union electronics and information technology ministry plans to boost robotics and manufacturing and export of drones under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, officials aware of the matter said.

The ministry introduced the scheme last year to provide incentives of four to six percent to electronics firms for manufacturing mobile phones and other electronic equipment to boost exports.

“The mobile phones PLI approximately aims to create [production worth] $8 billion… per players with overall $150 million incentives…Similarly, for drones and robotics, [it]…will be at least [production worth] $2 billion…per player,” said an official, who did not want to be named. There is an emerging market for drones and robotics and the scheme will help India capture a space in it on the global scale, the official added.