Vaishnaw warns of PLI freeze, slams slow pace of electronics industry

Union IT and Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has issued a sharp warning to India’s electronics manufacturing ecosystem, threatening to halt both fresh approvals and fund disbursements under the Electronics Components PLI scheme if companies fail to step up execution.

“Not getting support from industry… Not very happy with the progress,” Vaishnaw said bluntly, adding that “industry needs to do more.”

The minister did not mince words, cautioning that the government is “willing to take harsh measures”,

including stopping further approvals and even withholding payouts for already cleared projects.

The remarks come at a critical juncture for the PLI scheme, launched in 2021 to reduce India’s heavy dependence on imports and a majority of electronic components are still sourced from overseas.

The warning comes despite the scheme’s ambitious mandate, to attract ₹76,000 crore in investments and build domestic capacity across components like displays, PCBs, batteries, and camera modules.

While 75 projects have been approved, promising over 65,000 jobs, the pace of on-ground execution and incentive disbursal has remained sluggish.

Vaishnaw made it clear that incremental manufacturing alone won’t cut it.

“If anyone wants to proceed without design, they can leave the programme,” he said, underscoring the government’s push for deep, in-house design capabilities. Companies failing to invest in R&D and design, he warned, “will be weeded out.”

Calling for a structured roadmap, the minister urged firms to collaborate with universities and other players to build core capabilities. “For us, nation comes first… design capabilities are very important,” he said, rejecting what he described as a business-as-usual approach.