PLISFPI — Up to ₹50Cr PLI Incentives for Food Processing — Frequently Asked Questions

Support comes in two forms. The first is a production-linked incentive on your incremental sales, calculated as Incremental Sales × Applicable Rate of Incentive, where rates range from 10% down to 4% depending on the segment and the year. The second is a 50% reimbursement of eligible branding and marketing spend in international markets, capped at ₹50 crore per year or 3% of your food product sales, whichever is lower.

Component 1 covers Ready-to-Cook/Ready-to-Eat foods, with a special focus on millet-based products, Processed Fruits & Vegetables, Marine Products, and Mozzarella Cheese. Value-added marine products may attract the higher 10% rate. For SMEs under Component 2, the scheme also extends to innovative or organic products across these segments plus Free Range Eggs, Poultry Meat and Egg Products.

You need to be manufacturing food products in India within the covered segments. Large entities apply under Category I, SMEs making innovative or organic products apply under Category II, and applicants who only want international branding support apply under Category III. In every case you must meet the minimum food product sales and committed investment thresholds set out in Appendix A of the guidelines.

The scheme's intake is listed as rolling or always open, but the real gate is the Expression of Interest (EOI) that MoFPI releases. The EOI carries the actual application window along with the eligibility details and categories, and no application is accepted once that window shuts.

The incentive is disbursed annually, starting from the year in which you are selected and continuing until the scheme concludes, provided you achieve the minimum compound annual growth rate in sales. Incentives earned in one year are typically paid in the following year.

The scheme guidelines do not set DPIIT or Udyam/MSME registration as a condition. The requirements that are specified relate to manufacturing in India within the target segments, meeting the minimum sales and committed investment yardsticks in Appendix A, and having a clean record with no bankruptcy, willful default, fraud reporting or SEBI debarment.

No. PLISFPI is structured as a production-linked subsidy rather than an equity investment, so support reaches you as incentive payouts and reimbursements instead of a stake in your business.

You complete the application in the prescribed format under Annexure-1, covering company details, proposed product segments, sales projections, investment plans and manufacturing capability, and specify every manufacturing site involved, including contract manufacturer sites. Supporting documents typically include incorporation certificates, financial statements, sales records, investment proofs and a business plan, along with an undertaking as per Annexure-7 consenting to audits of your manufacturing sites and offices.

The fee is non-refundable and paid online, and it varies by category. Category-I applicants pay ₹1,00,000, Category-II applicants pay ₹10,000, and Category-III applicants pay ₹10,000 if they are SMEs or ₹50,000 otherwise.

Once you submit, the PMA generates a unique Application ID for tracking and correspondence, then examines the application within 15 working days. If it is incomplete, you are informed within 15 working days and get 10 working days to rectify. Complete applications are processed by the PMA and recommended to MoFPI, with all applications targeted for finalisation within 90 days of the window closing. After MoFPI approves, the approval letter follows within 5 working days, and a performance bank guarantee equal to 3% of your committed investment is due within two weeks of receiving it.

Applications are submitted online through the official MoFPI PLI portal at https://plimofpi.ifciltd.com.

PLISFPI — Up to ₹50Cr PLI Incentives for Food Processing is offered by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), a government body. It is provided as non-dilutive funding.

Apply directly through the official application link on this page. Review the eligibility criteria and prepare your startup documents before you begin.