India clears INR42 billion in PLI incentives; specialty steel, auto components among major beneficiaries

The Indian government has approved INR42 billion (US$441.67 million) in incentives under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, with specialty steel and automotive components emerging among the key sectors supported as India seeks to expand high-value manufacturing and exports. 

For specialty steel, the PLI scheme has continued to gather momentum. Since its launch, the scheme has attracted investment commitments of INR438.74 billion (US$5 billion), with an estimated 14.3 million tonnes of specialty steel production and 30,760 direct jobs. Participating companies had already invested INR229.73 billion (US$2.41 billion) by September 2025. Under the third round (PLI 1.2), the Ministry of Steel signed MoUs for 85 projects involving 55 companies, which alone account for INR1,188.70 billion (US$12.49 billion) of fresh investment commitments and 8.7 million tonnes of downstream steel and alloy-making capacity. 

The automotive components PLI scheme also received incentive approvals, reinforcing India's push to localise production of advanced auto parts and increase exports. The scheme is aimed at strengthening India's position in global automotive supply chains through higher domestic value addition and technology-led manufacturing. 
This latest approval is part of the government's broader PLI programme, under which cumulative incentive disbursements have now crossed INR400 billion, supporting investment, manufacturing and exports across strategic sectors. 

Across all PLI sectors, cumulative exports have reached INR15.2 trillion (US$159.84 billion) as of March 31, 2026, up from INR6.5 trillion (US$68.35 billion) a year earlier and INR4 trillion (US$49.06 billion) in March 2024.