Indian telecom company HFCL to avail Rs.653cr incentives under PLI scheme

HFCL, an Indian telecom company, will avail an incentive of up to INR 652.79 crores as part of production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme following approval from Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Project Management Agency (PMA) and Competent Authority.

Out of the INR 4,115 crores investment from all the participating companies under the PLI Scheme, the telecom equipment manufacturer and provider has committed an investment of approximately INR 425 crores.

HFCL will use the amount to produce and develop 5G Radio equipment, Routers, Switches, Wi-Fi Products, and Backhaul Radios.

Starting from FY 2022-23 to 2026-27, the incentive amount to the Indian telecom company will be distributed over a period of five years.

Mahendra Nahata — HFCL MD said: “This approval worth Rs. 652.79 crore will help us in improving our margins and enable us to emerge as a front-runner in this competitive global market.

“Given our current focus on R&D, we are committed to invest Rs.425 crore for development and manufacturing of futuristic telecom products.”

At the India Mobile Congress 2022, a digital technology forum, HFCL has launched a range of next-generation technology products including Open source Wi-Fi 7 Access Points, 5G 8T8R digital Macro Radio Unit, and 5G Lab-as-a- service.

HFCL has recently collaborated with Qualcomm for the design and development of the 5G Outdoor Small Cell and Fixed Wireline Access product.

In 2020, the Government of India introduced the PLI scheme to encourage national companies to develop and deploy futuristic equipment and solutions in the telecom industry.

PLI scheme will also encourage indigenous product development, domestic manufacturing, investments, and export of telecom and networking products.

The 5G products that are designed and manufactured in India will get an additional incentive of 1% over and above the existing incentives following the Union Budget 2022-23.