Mobile phone incentive scheme on track, laptop initiative lags: NITI Aayog

India's mobile phone production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme is one of only four sectors rated as performing "on track" across all four critical measures of success, government think tank NITI Aayog said. The scheme has demonstrated measurable progress in investment, production, job creation and exports, marking it among the nation's most successful industrial policy initiatives. The assessment comes as India seeks to establish itself as a global electronics manufacturing hub through targeted incentive programmes.

In contrast, the laptop manufacturing scheme under the production-linked incentive framework has struggled to gain momentum, failing to keep pace with targets set during its launch. The initiative has not achieved the same balanced performance across investment, production, employment and export metrics as the mobile phone sector. Industry analysts attribute the gap to varied adoption rates among manufacturers and evolving market dynamics in the computing devices segment.

The performance review underscores the varying effectiveness of India's sectoral incentive strategies. While the mobile phone PLI scheme has attracted significant manufacturer participation and generated tangible economic outcomes, the laptop initiative highlights challenges in translating policy support into consistent industrial growth. The NITI Aayog assessment suggests that targeted schemes require sustained coordination between government and industry stakeholders to achieve their full potential.

The findings inform ongoing discussions about India's industrial policy direction and the calibration of future production-linked incentive programmes. Policymakers are expected to use the performance data to refine existing schemes and design more targeted interventions for underperforming sectors.