New Delhi, March 4 -- South Korea's Samsung, which had a blockbuster run under India's smartphone incentives scheme, has dropped out of a similar scheme to build telecom gear, government data showed. The Rs.12,195 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme was introduced in February 2021 to encourage the local manufacture of equipment such as network switches, transmission gear and set-top boxes.

Out of the scheme's 42 applicants, 19 including Samsung have not claimed or received any incentive, data showed. Only 15% of the scheme's outlay was actually disbursed, even as its five-year run ends this month.

Companies which have chosen FY23 as base year will have one year left (FY27) to claim incentives on incremental sales, whereas inv...