India’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme needs urgent review amid global turmoil due to its patchy record. While smartphones showed export success, overall investments disappointed, and its impact on manufacturing GDP was minimal. The author advocates a redesign using a three-box checklist: ensuring leak-proof flows, fostering nuanced self-sufficiency with genuine technology transfer, and aligning support with strategic national needs, like chip manufacturing. Emphasizing market forces, India must selectively intervene where strategic interests are paramount, making the policy more efficient and goal-oriented.