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Forty-four companies, including top brands, have already applied for incentives under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware manufacturing, a top government official said. The recently notified import restrictions on products such as laptops and tablets were introduced from a security perspective but will spur local production and won’t lead to supply disruptions, according to this person.
IT hardware companies have been told about the licensing portal where it takes five to 10 minutes to get approval for an import licence, this official said.
“The regulations being imposed are from a security point of view, and these regulations will not create any disruption anywhere,” the official said. “Today, if you want to take permission under this regulation, it will not take you more than five to 10 minutes to fill the online application and get the approval. So nothing is going to be disrupted.”
The official was referring to the import restrictions imposed on laptops, tablets, servers, all-in-one personal computers and ultra-small form factor computers on Thursday.
Late on Friday, the government issued another notification deferring the implementation to November 1. Import consignments won’t need a licence until October 31.
ET reported that the licensing requirement against import of IT hardware was to guard against in-built security loopholes that may potentially endanger sensitive personal and enterprise data.
The official said the move will lead to India becoming an export hub for laptops and servers.
“There is already a clear ecosystem to manufacture laptops and servers,” he said. “Already, 44 companies have registered for the IT hardware PLI. And most of these companies are in such a position that they can start production immediately.”
Nearly all major laptop manufacturers have applied for the revised PLI scheme.
“Two of the major server manufacturers have clearly committed that they will be making India a major export hub,” he said. “We will see a similar scale of locally made laptops and tablets as mobile phones, 99% of which are made in India.”
India’s electronics imports, which include laptops, tablets and personal computers, stood at $19.7 billion in the April-June period, up 6.25% year-on-year. In FY23, imports of personal computers, including laptops, amounted to $5.33 billion.
“We anticipated the reaction from the industry,” the official said. “Such moves usually impact the trading community. No one has yet seen how easy it is to register online and get a licence. We were prepared for this reaction.”
Minister of state for IT and electronics Rajeev Chandrasekhar had tweeted earlier that the government’s objective was to ensure trusted hardware and systems, reduce import dependence and increase domestic manufacturing of this category of products.
Industry experts, however, had questioned the timing of the announcement. It was made just before the start of the festive season when sales traditionally spike.
The notification has exemptions such as the import of one laptop, tablet, all-in-one personal computer or ultra-small form factor computer as personal baggage.
Also exempt will be the import of 20 IT devices per consignment for R&D, testing, benchmarking, and evaluation. Imports for repair and re-export, and for product development purposes, re-import of goods repaired abroad, and devices coming as essential parts of capital goods will also be exempt from requiring a licence.
44 IT hardware companies log in for PLI sops
IT hardware companies have been told about the licensing portal where it takes five to 10 minutes to get approval for an import licence, this official said. “The regulations being imposed are from a security point of view, and these regulations will not create any disruption anywhere,” the...
