Global Laptop brands to manufacture products in India

According to a report, an official has stated that 44 IT hardware manufacturers, including global PC makers, have registered to manufacture laptops, tablets, and personal computers in India. After the recently imposed restrictions, their decision to manufacture products in India is going to boost the economy.

The individual in charge did not disclose the name of any particular company. They stated that the success achieved through the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for mobile phone manufacturing is likely to be replicated in the production of IT hardware.

"Leading laptop companies have registered for PLI and some of them are ready to start manufacturing in India any time. Global server companies have said that they want to make India an export hub for servers," the official said.

The last date for manufacturing IT hardware under Rs 17,000-crore PLI scheme is August 30, as fixed by the government.  

Counterpoint Research's data for the June 2023 quarter reveals that Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple, and Acer claimed the top positions in the personal computer sector.

Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, reported that the annual size of India's laptop and PC market is nearly USD 8 billion. He noted that approximately 65 percent of these units are imported.

Furthermore, starting from November 1, the government has unveiled plans to permit the import of laptops, tablets, and personal computers in specific restricted categories, provided they hold valid licenses.

"The pull to manufacture IT hardware, especially laptops and tablets, in India, started during PLI 1.0, and it bloomed further with PLI 2.0. We expect local production of IT hardware devices in India will meet 60-65 percent of domestic demand in the next 2-3 years," Optiemus Electronics (OEL) Managing Director A Gururaj said.

Lava International Co-founder, Chairman, and Managing Director Hari Om Rai, supports the government’s move to restrict imports via valid permits.  Due to this decision brands have chosen to manufacture products in India.

"It will add 10 billion dollars to laptop manufacturing, billions of dollars of components, and millions of jobs. It is also a very big milestone in building the much-needed scale of the supply chain of electronics in India," Rai added.

He said the government has ensured that there is no disruption in the supply chain so that the companies will have no issues with the "ease of doing business" and the consumers will continue to get the products at the same price.

Deki Electronics MD and CII National Committee for Electronics Chairman Vinod Sharma said the government under IT hardware PLI has provided incentives for the use of locally manufactured components, which will boost the domestic components ecosystem.

"A non-tariff measure in the form of a license to check imports will boost local production. Imported IT hardware can also be spyware or malware. We have had similar cases in the past. The government is absolutely right in imposing restrictions to make sure that devices are procured from trusted and safe sources," Sharma said.