Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries, Haradanahalli Devegowda Kumaraswamy launched the second round of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Specialty Steel, termed as PLI Scheme 1.1 on 6th January, 2025 at the Vigyan Bhavan New Delhi.
- PLI Scheme 1.1 applications will remain open from 6th January to 31st January 2025.
- The scheme will work within the already allocated funds for the scheme, i.e., Rs.6,322 crore and will be implemented for the period of Financial Year (FY) 2025-26 to FY 2029-30.
Key Highlights:
i.The PLI Scheme 1.1 has been introduced for 5 product categories with respect to the existing PLI Scheme, namely Coated / Plated Steel Products, High Strength / Wear resistant Steel, Specialty Rails, Alloy Steel Products & Steel wires and Electrical Steel.
ii.In the 2nd round of PLI Scheme, investment and capacity creation thresholds for Cold-Rolled Grain-Oriented (CRGO) steel has been reduced to Rs.3,000 crore and 50,000 tonnes to promote participation in this category.
iii.The first round of PLI Scheme for Specialty Steel was notified on July 2021 by the Ministry of Steel(MoS) with a budgetary outlay of Rs 6,322 Crore.
- In the first round, there were 44 active projects by 26 companies with an investment of about Rs.27,106 crore and 24 million tons of downstream capacity creation.
- As of November 2024, the investment made by companies is Rs 18,300 crore till now.
About PLI Scheme:
i.The PLI Scheme was launched in March 2020 with an aim to boost India’s manufacturing capabilities, reduce reliance on imports and promotion of exports by offering financial incentives directly related to measurable outcomes such as higher production and incremental sales.
ii.It was initially launched to target three industries –
- Mobile manufacturing and electric components,
- Pharmaceutical (critical key starting materials/active pharmaceutical ingredients),
- Medical device manufacturing
iii.Later it was extended to a total of 14 sectors with a total budgetary outlay of Rs.1.97 trillion.
iv.The 14 sectors include-
- Mobile Manufacturing and Specified Electronic Components
- Critical Key Starting Materials/Drug Intermediaries & Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
- Manufacturing of Medical Devices
- Automobiles and Auto Components,
- Pharmaceuticals Drugs
- Specialty Steel
- Telecom & Networking Products,
- Electronic/Technology Products,
- White Goods (ACs and LEDs)
- Food Products
- Textile Products: MMF segment and technical textiles
- High efficiency solar PV modules
- Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery
- Drones and Drone Components
v. As of August 2024, investments worth1.46 lakh crore have been utilizedleading to a boost in production and sales, amounting to Rs.12.50 lakh crore, and directly and indirectly generating approximately 9.5 lakh jobs.
Ministry of Steel:
Union Minister– Haradanahalli Devegowda Kumaraswamy (Mandya, Karnataka)
Minister of State (MoS)- Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma (Narasapuram, Andhra Pradesh)
