New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS): Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday that 32 companies, including HP, Dell, Lenovo, Foxconn, Acer, and Thomson, among others, have applied under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) 2.0 scheme for IT hardware.

The expected incremental production under the scheme is around Rs 3.35 lakh crore, according to the minister.

Several domestic companies such as Dixon Technologies, VVDN, and Netweb are among the 32 applicants under the 2.0 scheme for IT hardware.

"India is emerging as a trusted supply chain partner and value added partner. The response to the PLI 2.0 for hardware is more than anticipated," he told media persons here.

With an anticipated incremental investment of Rs 2,430 crore, the scheme aims to generate an incremental production amounting to Rs 3,35,000 crore.

Moreover, the PLI 2.0 is expected to create 75,000 direct jobs along with over 2 lakh indirect jobs, significantly increasing employment opportunities in the sector.

The scheme covers laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, servers and ultra small form factor devices.

The PLI Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware was notified on May 29 with a budgetary outlay of Rs 17,000 crore.

"The companies are coming and working on developing their local supply chain here," Vaishnaw said.

Among the local electronics manufacturing players, Dixon Technologies’ subsidiary Padget Electronics and Optiemus Electronics have applied for the PLI 2.0 scheme.

The scheme is expected to result in broadening and deepening of the manufacturing ecosystem by encouraging the localisation of components and sub-assemblies and allowing for a longer duration to develop the supply chain within the country, according to the IT Ministry.

Furthermore, semiconductor design, IC manufacturing, and packaging are also included as incentivised components of the PLI Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware.