Food products lead PLI job creation, outpace electronics and pharma

While electronics has been the flagship sector under the government's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, it is food processing that has emerged as the biggest generator of direct employment, Times of India reported, creating the highest number of jobs with a fraction of the investment attracted by capital-intensive sectors such as electronics, pharmaceuticals and solar manufacturing.

Government data tabled in Parliament showed that the food products sector generated nearly 3.3 lakh direct jobs with investments of around Rs 9,200 crore till March 2026. The white goods segment also stood out for its employment intensity, attracting Rs 6,400 crore in investments while creating 52,700 direct jobs.

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By comparison, the large-scale electronics manufacturing segment, driven largely by smartphones, attracted Rs 20,580 crore in investments and generated around 1.7 lakh direct jobs. The pharmaceutical sector, which has been among the biggest beneficiaries of the PLI scheme, received Rs 45,158 crore in investments but created just over 1.1 lakh jobs, according to the data.

The contrast was even sharper in sectors that require significant capital expenditure and highly skilled labour. High-efficiency solar PV module manufacturing drew the highest investment among the sectors listed at Rs 64,800 crore, but generated only 14,800 direct jobs. The specialty steel sector created a similar number of jobs despite investments of Rs 23,800 crore, underscoring the lower employment intensity of heavy manufacturing compared with labour-intensive industries such as food processing.

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The figures highlight how sectors differ sharply in their ability to translate investment into employment, with labour-intensive industries delivering significantly higher job creation even as high-value manufacturing continues to attract larger capital commitments under the PLI programme.