Pli schemes

PLI schemes set to kick-start hiring spree in India, survey finds

Some 60% of employers in India expect to be hiring more staff due to the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, a survey has found.

The report from employment specialist TeamLease found that 68% of employers in the pharmaceutical industry expect to hire more staff, followed by the white goods industry (67%) and textile products (62%).

The report says that the boost from the PLI schemes will also impact the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) sector and lead to an increase of women in employment. SMEs are leading the way, with 70% of such organisations expecting to hire more staff. The highest intent to hire is in Indore (86%), followed by Chennai with 73% and Pune and Gurgaon with 65% each.

The TeamLease report is based on a survey of 344 mid to senior-level general managers and talent acquisition managers across 14 cities and eight industries in India. It highlights the employer’s reaction towards job creation based on the incentives mentioned by the government in the PLI scheme and their projection about hiring in the next two years.

In conclusion, the report suggests that this will have a positive impact on job creation in India, with more women entering the workforce and more opportunities for blue-collar and temporary staff.

PLI schemes

These schemes were first announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2020, with R 1.97tr ($3.5bn) invested in 14 key sectors.

They are a form of performance-linked inducement to give companies incentives for increasing sales from products manufactured domestically. The schemes are designed to boost the domestic manufacturing sector and cut imports.

They also aim to incentivise foreign manufacturers to start production in India and for domestic manufacturers to expand their production and exports.

Sectors eligible for theses schemes include cars and auto components, white goods, pharma, textiles, food products, high efficiency solar PV modules and specialty steel.

 

BDO India set to expand

Professional services firm BDO is set to hire 25,000 people in India over the next five years as part of a plan to scale up its country operations and global development centre, according to its India managing partner, Milind Kothari. The firm recently surpassed 5,000 employees in the country.

The accounting firm, which started out in India in 2013 with two offices and 230 employees, is poised to add another 17,000 employees to its India practice and 8,000 to its global development centre, also in the country, by the end of 2028, according to Kothari.

In a 10-year timeframe, the firm has successfully managed to establish a foothold in the highly competitive industry of professional services, which is largely dominated by the Big Four firms.

BDO’s 40% average yearly growth has been driven by its audit business growing 40%-45% year-on-year growth, while its advisory services have grown 30-35%. Its business function outsourcing arm has seen a growth of over 40%.

“We are riding the India $10tr story. We believe that the top six firms in India will only grow bigger as India Inc looks for different services to support their growth,” said Kothari.

The managing partner said the firm has identified a significant opportunity for providing non-audit services for companies where the Big Four firms (EY, Deloitte, PwC and KPMG) face conflicts of interest. “We are already the sixth-largest audit firm in India, clocking 40%-plus year-on-year growth,” said Kothari. “We believe that conventional services will grow, but technology, outsourcing, and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), will be big for us in the future.”

He said the firm started in India by targeting mid-market clients, but after “persistent effort and strategic manoeuvring managed to secure business from large conglomerates as well as multinational corporations”, usually the domain of firms the Big Four.