Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has dismissed criticism of India’s electronics manufacturing push, citing strong returns from the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. Responding to a Bloomberg Opinion video that compared India’s subsidy model with China’s established manufacturing ecosystem, Vaishnaw took to social media to share data regarding public spending.
Vaishnaw revealed that against an incentive payout of Rs 19,000 crore, the mobile PLI scheme generated Rs 25,000 crore in direct taxes, Rs 3 lakh crore in GST, and sustained 12 lakh jobs, before finishing his post on X (formerly Twitter) with Gen Z slang to critics: “Cope harder!!”
“Mobile PLI stats as follows: Government incentive paid: Rs 19,000 crore. Direct tax collected: Rs 25,000 crore. GST collected: Rs 3,00,000 crore,” said Vaishnaw, adding: “Electronics manufacturing employs 25 Lakh people; mobile manufacturing alone employs 12 Lakh. Cope harder!!’
Vaishnaw’s post came in response to a Bloomberg video which claimed that despite manufacturing one in four iPhones in India, a substantial portion of the components were imported from overseas.
“One in four iPhones is made in India, but imported parts and costly subsidies complicate the success story,” the accompanying video was captioned.
Check The Post Here:
Mobile PLI stats as follows: Government incentive paid: Rs 19,000 Cr. Direct tax collected: Rs 25,000 Cr. GST collected: Rs 3,00,000 Cr. Electronics manufacturing employs 25 Lakh people; mobile manufacturing alone employs 12 Lakh. Cope harder!!
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) October 27, 2026
‘First In My Bloodline’
As Ashwini’s post went viral, social media users were pleasantly surprised by a senior cabinet minister using Gen Z slang to hit back at the detractors.
“First in my bloodline to see a cabinet minister using words like, Cope Harder,” said one user, while another added: “My GOAT using Gen Z slang and belting agenda peddlers was not on my bingo card.”
A third commented: “Ashwini Vaishnaw’s achievements: 150+ Vande Bharat trains, sleeper version launched. Kavach 4.0: 2,600+ route km covered. Semiconductor production begins; Vikram-32 chip presented to PM. While anti-India elements are crying, India keeps building. Absolutely, cope harder.”
A fourth said: “Cope harder!! Thank you Honourable Minister. This is the exact language they deserve. They need to be spoken back in the same language they carry out for others.”
