India's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme in 14 sectors for Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) will create 6 million jobs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget 2022-23 speech today.

She said that the PLI scheme would account for additional new production of Rs 30 trillion.

India's government has so far identified 14 sectors under the PLI scheme, which aims to boost domestic manufacturing base and attract large investments in the value chains of the identified industries, including mobile phones manufacturing, medical devices, specific electronic components, automobiles and auto components, drones and drones components.

The PLI scheme, announced in the Budget for 2021-22, has set aside nearly Rs 2 trillion in incentives over 5 years to encourage local production and exports, and was initially meant for sectors such as telecom, electronics, and automotives, before gradually including some others.  

A KPMG survey, released last week, said that about 60% of the industry stakeholders said that the PLI scheme will have the desired result of making India a manufacturing hub, with more than four-fifths of the respondents saying that the government should expand the scope of the scheme to include other sectors as well.

The PLI scheme has been designed to ensure efficiency and economies of scale in the country's manufacturing sector, driving economic growth and employment generation in the country.

Sitharaman, who presented her second 'paperless' budget this year, said that India's economy would expand by 9.2% in the fiscal year ending March 31. In the previous financial year, the economy had contracted by a record 7.3%, as harsh Covid-related restrictions crippled commercial activity, denting demand for goods and services, and disrupting supply chains.