PLI for telecom: Unhappy domestic vendors say scheme doesn’t promote local R&D; favours EMS players

NEW DELHI: A section of multinational and local telecom gear makers said that the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) guidelines for the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which caps R&D investment at only 15%, will only help companies that don’t plan on indigenous product development of telecom equipment, and will only lead to assembly.

They added that the scheme is skewed towards contract manufacturers at the cost of companies who are investing top dollars in R&D to develop the products.