Laptop imports

CITING security reasons and the need to promote domestic manufacturing, the Union Government will impose restrictions on the import of laptops, tablets and certain other types of computers. Even as India has made significant progress in local manufacturing of smartphones and TV sets, the IT hardware segment has failed to make rapid strides. About 65 per cent of the laptop/PC units in India are imported. The curbs on imports and the rollout of a licensing regime should have been done long ago. The inordinate delay has enabled countries such as Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore to surge ahead, even as China continues to be the undisputed leader in the manufacture and export of computer devices.

It’s the undue dependence on China that India wants to reduce with its latest move. The government has assured companies that they will be provided a transition period to apply for licences to import laptops and other devices. A major challenge will be to scale up local manufacturing so that the industry is able to meet the ever-rising domestic demand, with laptops and tablets being heavily used in the education, business and entertainment sectors. Earlier this year, the Union Cabinet had approved a production-linked incentive scheme for IT hardware with a budgetary outlay of Rs 17,000 crore. In a bid to attract big-ticket investments, India has extended the deadline for companies to apply for this scheme.

The quality and pricing of the products will be the key issues for the stakeholders on the domestic front. The government would have to go all out to spur leading international players to establish manufacturing facilities in India to create world-class IT devices. If Make in India goes hand in hand with Make for the World, the country can become an export hub in the long run.