According to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Dell, HP and Lenovo are among the 32 companies that have applied to manufacture laptops in India
At least 32 international electronics companies have applied for India’s stimulus program to manufacture laptops, tablets and servers in the country, a senior minister said on Wednesday, weeks after the government announced restrictions on laptop imports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is pushing to increase domestic manufacturing capacity as part of its Make in India initiative, with several global companies either establishing their own entities or entering into joint ventures with Indian firms.
The electronics companies’ applications were made under the country’s $2 billion (about 16,500 crore) Information Technology hardware Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) program announced in May, Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
Earlier this month, India announced it would introduce a licensing requirement for importing laptops, tablets and PCs in what was widely seen as a move to boost local manufacturing.
Companies that have applied to manufacture laptops and other products in India include Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell Technologies, Asus, Acer and Lenovo, Vaishnaw said, according to a video feed from news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake .
The PLI program for IT hardware is expected to bring in Rs. 24.3 billion additional investments and should create 75,000 direct jobs, the minister said.
India will allow a transition period of about three months before a new licensing regime for importing laptops, tablets and PCs comes into effect, the country’s trade regulator said on Aug. 5.
This marks a partial reversal of Thursday’s surprise decision to make the permit requirement effective immediately, which had prompted calls for a delay.
“Import shipments can be cleared without a license until October 31 and a government permit would be required to clear imports from November 1,” the government said in a statement.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
