PLI SCHEME For Manufacturing of Mobile Phones

 

The Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology (MeitY) notified the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme on April 1, 2020 for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing with an aim to boost domestic manufacturing of mobile phones in India. With the launch of this PLI Scheme, the government looked forward to attract large investments in manufacturing mobile phones including the Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) units. The PLI Scheme resonates with the ambitious Aatma Nirbhar Bharat campaign and Make in India initiative to make India a self-reliant nation.

1. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme provides 4% to 6% incentive on ↓incremental sales (over base year, 2019-20) to eligible companies for manufacturing goods for 5 years period.

2. Companies that are registered in India and are involved in the manufacturing of goods covered under the Target Segments of the scheme can apply under the Scheme.

3. With an aim to make India self-reliant in manufacturing of goods and commodities, the Government plans to includes eight to ten more sectors under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme. These sectors could be food processing sector, textiles sector, etc.

Recently, The Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) has written letters to the NITI Aayog to consider declaring 2020-21 as ↓ZERO YEAR for production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for manufacturing of mobile phones.

❓What is Incremental Sale?

In simple words - If I sell ten products every day at full price, then I run a promo and sell eleven products, then that one extra product is an incremental sale.

❓What is ZERO YEAR?

<Comment your answer>

Indian Beamline Project?

 
❓What is Indian Beamline Project?

It is a facility for materials research set up under India-Japan Scientific and Technological Cooperation, with special focus on industrial application research.

This India-Japan Scientific and Technological Cooperation project was initiated between the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization(KEK) on 24 July 2007.

1. In the first phase (2009-2015) of this project, an X-ray beamline (BL18B) was constructed by Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) in Japanese synchrotron light source Photon Factory (PF).

X-Ray Beam line

2. In the second phase (2016-2021), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) and SINP jointly developed the beamline further to cater to the need of various users from India.

JNCASR

3. The initiation of the third phase took place with the signing of MoU between:

Ambassador of India in Japan Mr. Sanjay Kumar Verma with ⟶ Director, Institute of Material Structure Science, Dr. KOSUGI Nobuhiro.

The phase would increase the number of young researchers from India to be trained in advanced X-ray techniques of material research. Besides, steps will be taken to allocate more beamtime so that more researchers can get access to it. At present, only 50 % of Indian researchers who apply receive beamtime.

❓What is BEAMTIME?

Its the time allocated to a researcher for use of a beam of particles from a particular source.

Aarthias/Aarthiyas System?

“If the aarthiya system is finished, private financiers will step in, and take away our land entirely,” said a farmer.

What is Aarthias System?

Arhtiyas, who have operations in Punjab and Haryana mainly, provide services to the farmers after they bring their produce to the APMC market yard. The farmer brings his produce to arthias. Arthias labour unloads the produce and cleans it. Following this, auctions happen. Arthias help the farmer with the auctions in the mandi. Auctions happen for both private and government buyers separately. Then the farmers are free and Arthias give them the receipt.

Aarthias provide farmers with the services and pay them within a month. But they believes that private market yards won’t be able to finish the entire process for all the farmers and all the crops in less than three months.

This is why farmers have been outrightly supporting arhtiyas in their opposition to the Bills.

Seeds, pesticides, insecticides and fertilisers are all the needs of farmers, arthiyas have deep networks with their suppliers and because of the credit that is extended to them, farmers are forced to tap into those networks, thereby binding them very closely with the arhtiyas.

Arhatiyas are also moneylenders who fund farmers’ requirements of cash for both cropping operations and personal and social requirements. For many farmers, borrowing from the arhatiya, whom they know personally, is easier and more convenient than approaching a bank with its unfamiliar procedures, impersonal service, and unfamiliar officials.

Counter Argument:

↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

Aarhtiyas are looked at as ‘evil middlemen’ by most people. He said that historically and culturally, aarhtiyas have had a bad reputation because they lend money to farmers at high interest rates.
Arhtiyas are not middlemen. They take a commission (2.5%) for the work they do and the services they provide to the farmer. There’s hatred towards arhtiyas because they are money lenders also.
In the absence of institutional credit for many farmers, they depend on arhtiyas for money.
Unfortunately, banks also don’t give loans to farmers easily now, if the government or banks will not give credit to farmers then they are helpless to loan money from arhtiyas.
There is need to make the arhtiyas lending process transparent because the clutches of non-institutional loan are also one of the main factors behind farmer suicides.

Sixth Schedule and Constitutional (125th Amendment) Bill, 2019?

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Lok Sabha that “presently, there is NO proposal to implement panchayat system in Sixth Schedule areas of Assam”.

The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution protects tribal populations and provides autonomy to the communities through creation of autonomous development councils that can frame laws on land, public health, agriculture and others.

Further, the Governor may divide an autonomous district into autonomous regions, each consisting of a Regional Council. The administration of autonomous districts and regions will be carried out by District and Regional Councils, respectively.

❓What are Autonomous Development Council?

Most of these autonomous district councils are located in North East India but two are in Ladakh, a region administered by India as a union territory. Presently, 10 Autonomous Councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura are formed by virtue of the Sixth Schedule.

❓What is Constitutional (125th Amendment) Bill, 2019?

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced in Rajya Sabha by the Minister of Home Affairs, on February 6, 2019.

The Bill amends this to provide for Village and Municipal Councils in addition to the District and Regional Councils. Village Councils will be established for villages or groups of villages in rural areas, and Municipal Councils will be established in urban areas of each district. Further, the District Councils may make laws on various issues, including:

(i) number of Village and Municipal Councils to be formed, and their composition,

(ii) delimitation of constituencies for election to the Village and Municipal Councils,

(iii) powers and functions of Village and Municipal Councils.

Further, the Bill states that the Governor may make rules for devolution of powers and responsibilities to the Village and Municipal Councils. Such rules may be framed in relation to: 

(i) preparation of plans for economic development,

(ii) implementation of land reforms,

(iii) urban and town planning, and

(iv) regulation of land-use, among other functions.

❓What are the Schedules of the Indian Constitution?

There are 12 Schedules in the Constitution of India. One of the first mentions of Schedules was made in the Government of India Act, 1935 where it included 10 Schedules. Later, when the Indian Constitution was adopted in 1949, it consisted of 8 Schedules. Today, with the amendments in the Indian Constitution, there are a total of 12 Schedules.