The industry should look at the measures under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme as an initial support because going forward, it has to face competition to grow further, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday.

The scheme incentives should not be seen as crutches and “we are not looking to make you dependent on government subsidies. This is only like a kickstart...The PLI scheme is only meant to give you that little bit of a boost to kickstart your effort and please look at it as a kickstart, an initial support (because) ultimately competition will prevail,” Goyal said.

“We will ultimately have to compete with each other and with the world,” he added.

He asked the PLI incentive beneficiary firms to share their “constructive criticism and feedback for better implementation of the scheme”.

The idea is to make India a manufacturing powerhouse and there is a long journey ahead, he said.

More than 1,200 stakeholders, including government officials and industry players, are meeting here and deliberating on the progress of 14 PLI schemes.

The minister also suggested that the industry gradually focus on global markets and come out of the “cosy comfort” of India’s large domestic market. A more outward looking effort would help add scale, volume and enhance cost effectiveness, he said, adding, “We are also looking for your cooperation and collaboration.”