The government plans to evaluate and potentially address the performance of "laggard sectors" within the ₹1.97-lakh crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, including white goods, automobiles, auto parts, textiles, solar PV modules, and ACC batteries. Official sources suggest that this assessment will occur after the current financial year. Of the fourteen sectors covered by the PLI scheme, six are struggling. While some face extended gestational periods, others encounter initial hurdles. This year is crucial, as limited time remains to initiate corrective measures if these sectors fail to gain momentum.

The concerned Departments and Ministries may consider course corrections or relaxation of criteria for sectors where the PLI scheme is not yielding satisfactory results. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) recently introduced a revised PLI scheme for the IT hardware sector with more lenient performance thresholds. DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh highlighted this at a press conference. Although aware of potential changes in the textile sector's PLI scheme, Singh lacked specific details. The PLI scheme, announced in 2020, aims to attract investments in strategic sectors over five years to enhance manufacturing and exports. To date, ₹2,900 crore has been disbursed out of the total corpus of ₹1.97-lakh crore, with total claims reaching ₹3,400 crore. Singh emphasized that the PLI scheme is designed to be self-financing, with the government expected to recover more through GST and other taxes than the allocated PLI outlay. Sectors such as large-scale electronics (including mobile phones), pharmaceuticals, and food processing demonstrate positive performance. In contrast, white goods, automobiles, auto parts, textiles, solar PV modules, and ACC batteries are considered laggards. Rajeev Singh Thakur, Additional Secretary at DPIIT, expressed optimism that incentives are being disbursed in eight sectors, with confidence that the remaining six will follow suit. However, some delay is expected in disbursements despite ongoing projects, investments, and employment generation.

A stock-taking meeting is scheduled by the DPIIT later this month under the leadership of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. This meeting aims to gather various stakeholders of the PLI scheme to assess its progress. Representatives from ministries, private companies, Niti Aayog, and officials involved in application assessments will attend the meeting, according to an official statement.