Production linked incentive to be extended to more sectors: Piyush Goyal

The government is working to extend incentives under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to more sectors, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

The government has announced PLI schemes for 14 sectors, including white goods, textiles and auto components.

The objective of the PLI scheme is to make domestic manufacturing globally competitive, create global champions in manufacturing, boost exports and create jobs.

"We came up with PLI for 14 sectors apart from semiconductor... We are willing to go the extra mile in other sectors. We are working on a few PLI schemes already," Goyal said at an event here.

There are demands for extending the PLI scheme for sectors like toys, certain electronic components, furniture and bicycles.

Talking about his recent visit to Saudi Arabia, the minister said there is huge potential to increase cooperation in areas like fintech, education, infrastructure, renewable energy, e-commerce, e-gaming and health.

Saudi Arabia wants Indian educational institutes to set up campuses there, and expand dual degrees, he added.

He also said Indian infrastructure companies should explore markets in other countries as huge demand is there worldwide for infrastructure investments.

To promote manufacturing, he asked the industry to focus on standards, technology-led manufacturing, skill development, and sustainable development goals.

On free trade agreements, he urged the industry to engage with the world and take advantage of these trade pacts as protectionism cannot continue.

Talking about importance of quality, Goyal said that even the poorest of the consumers deserve the best quality products and the culture of no compromise with quality has to be adopted in the country.

There is a need to change this mindset of two quality standards for domestic and international markets, he added.

"If you do not mind, sometimes, we also differentiate between our customers based on the colour of his skin. And not necessarily in a city like Mumbai or Delhi, but yes, certainly, you go to a small town or place and there is that colonial mindset...

"That colonial thinking, if we can remove from our ecosystem, it will also help us focus on quality," he told the industry.