PIB TrackerPLI scheme for medical devices extended to 2035-36
Fresh applications are invited under PLI-MD, now extended to 2035-36 with about Rs 2,700 crore available. The minimum sales threshold is dropped, the minimum investment is trimmed and the window stays open continuously.
What happened
- The Government invited fresh applications under PLI-MD, now extended up to 2035-36, with about Rs 2,700 crore available; the online portal opens within 10 days.
- The scheme, launched in 2020-21, has led to manufacture of over 60 high-end devices and components and production worth over Rs 16,000 crore.
- Applicants get 3 years to set up plants in one of 4 target segments; incentives taper and average ~5% (TS1), ~9% (TS2, TS3) and 6% (TS4).
- The minimum sales threshold to claim incentive is discontinued and the minimum investment is trimmed.
- PLI-MD 2.0 targets items such as 3T MRI, PET-CT, ultrasound probes and IVD analysers, with priority to critical components to help MSMEs.
For Prelims
- PLI-MD: the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for medical devices, launched in 2020-21 with an original outlay of Rs 3,420 crore and four target segments in different product groups, such as imaging and implants (PRIDs 2239576, 2288770).
- Target segments: TS1 consumables, disposables and implants; TS2 critical components; TS3 high-end devices at a nascent stage of domestic manufacture; TS4 high-end devices that are only assembled in India.
- Tapering incentive: the rate falls over the incentive period; it averages about 5 per cent for TS1, about 9 per cent for TS2 and TS3, and 6 per cent for TS4.
- Simplifications: minimum sales threshold discontinued, minimum investment trimmed, any number of applications allowed, and the application window kept continuously open.
- PLI schemes: launched in 2020 and now spread over 14 sectors; they pay incentives on incremental sales of goods made in India.
- Other medical-device schemes: Promotion of Medical Devices Parks and the Strengthening of Medical Device Industry (SMDI) Scheme (PRIDs 2234442, 2288770).
- Administering ministry: the Department of Pharmaceuticals in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers; the application portal opens within 10 days.
- Not yet made in India: the release names 3T MRI, PET-CT, ultrasound probes and consoles and high-throughput IVD analysers as the target.
For UPSC: PLI-MD extended to 2035-36: about Rs 2,700 crore, 4 target segments (TS1-TS4), 3 years to set up; sales threshold dropped; launched 2020-21, over 60 devices made.
What it is NOT: The release does not say how long each applicant can claim incentive, how much the minimum investment is now, or whether the Rs 2,700 crore is new money or the unspent part of the original Rs 3,420 crore. It gives no cap per applicant, no jobs or export figures, and no count of how many first-phase firms met their targets. The Rs 16,000 crore is described as production, and incentive paid is not stated; a March 2026 reply gave Rs 157.15 crore to seven applicants (PRID 2239576).
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.12 · GS3.8 · Linkage L1
Anchor
Scanners, implants and analysers are the equipment on which modern hospitals depend, and a large part of that equipment is imported. A domestic base lowers cost and supply risk.
Substantiation (data)
PLI-MD, launched in 2020-21, has led to over 60 high-end devices and components and production worth over Rs 16,000 crore. The extension to 2035-36 offers about Rs 2,700 crore across four target segments.
Position
Dropping the sales threshold and trimming minimum investment lowers entry barriers, especially for MSMEs making components. Three years to build and an always-open window give investors time and flexibility.
Counterpoint
Production value is not value added, and imported parts can sit inside a locally assembled machine. An outlay of Rs 2,700 crore, below the original Rs 3,420 crore, spreads thin over a longer period, and the release gives no data on jobs, exports or price cuts.
Way forward
Publish value-addition and localisation data by segment, link incentives to component depth in TS2 to TS4, build testing and certification capacity, and report price effects on public procurement.
Conclusion
The extension keeps a working incentive alive and eases its terms. Whether it deepens the supply chain or only relocates assembly will show in component data.
Deploys into: Indigenisation and new technology: medical devices and critical components · Industrial policy: production-linked incentives and ease of doing business · Atmanirbhar Bharat and supply chains · Health technology costs and MSME participation
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers · 2026-11-10 · PRID 2334770 · PIB source ↗