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BUSINESS EYE AUGUST 11, 2023 | The Indian Eye 30

In a push for ‘Make in India’, Modi Govt

puts curbs on import of laptops and PCs

India’s push to manufacture domestically comes at a crucial time for the world’s most
populous nation, as companies look beyond China to secure crucial supply chains

OUR BUREAU
New Delhi/Mumbai

n a sudden move on Thursday, In-
dia placed restrictions on the im-
Iport of computers and laptops in
a surprise move from the government
of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
which has been trying to encourage
domestic manufacturing in the tech
sector. Importers will now need to
apply for licenses in order to bring
laptops, tablets, personal computers
and other electronic devices into the
country, according to a notice issued
by the Ministry of Commerce and In-
dustry on Thursday. Previously, the
import of such items was unrestricted.
The ministry didn’t provide a
reason for the change in rules; how-
ever, Modi has aggressively pushed
his “Make in India” campaign, which
promotes local manufacturing in a
bid to create more jobs. It follows
a similar curb on smart TV imports
in 2020. India’s electronic imports
stood at $19.7 billion in the April to Apple was already making between 5% and 7% of its products in India (ANI photo)
June period, up 6.25% from the same
period in 2022, according to Reuters.
India’s push to manufacture do- General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) products (sic),” Union Minister for Apple was already making between
mestically comes at a crucial time for issued a notification, restricting the Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chan- 5% and 7% of its products in India.
the world’s most populous nation, import of laptops, tablets, all-in-one drasekhar, wrote on Twitter.s “If I am not mistaken, they are target-
as companies look beyond China to personal computers, and ultra-small “This is not at all abt license raj ing to go up to 25% of their manufac-
secure crucial supply chains. India’s form factor computers and serv- - It is about regulating imports to en- turing,” he said at an event in January.
working-age population is expected ers (IT devices). The DGFT order, sure trusted and verifiable systems In June, US chipmaker Micron
to hit one billion over the next de- however, gave exemptions to certain AND ensuring India tech eco-system (MICR) announced a new factory in
cade, according to the Organization categories such as imports which will uses trusted n verified systems only the western state of Gujarat, calling it
for Economic Co-operation and De- come as part of baggage allowance, that are imported and/or domesti- the country’s first semiconductor as-
velopment. Its large and young labor 20 number of IT devices per con- cally manufactured trusted systems / sembly and test manufacturing facility.
force makes the country a big draw signment for R&D, testing, bench- products (sic),” he further wrote. The venture will see Micron in-
for global companies seeking alter- marking and evaluation, for repair DGFT has prepared a portal and vest up to $825 million and create
native manufacturing hubs to China. and re-export, for product develop- companies or traders who wish to “up to 5,000 new direct Micron jobs
A day after India put a restric- ment purposes, re-import of goods import can apply for getting a license. and 15,000 community jobs over
tion on imports of laptops, the cen- repaired abroad, and devices coming It is expected that DGFT will issue the next several years,” according
tral government has said the country as an essential part of capital goods. a license within three-to-four days if to the company.
has sufficient capacity for manufac- The government, as part of its details are provided as needed. Foxconn, the world’s largest
turing IT hardware devices. rationale behind the restriction in Meanwhile, under the PLI contract electronics maker and a key
Also, the government main- imports, said it introduced this poli- scheme for IT hardware, which was supplier to Apple, is also looking to
tained that it had already announced cy condition in order to protect the notified on May 29, 2023, the govern- expand its manufacturing operations
production-linked incentives for security interests of the country and ment said 44 companies have already in India. Last month, it abruptly an-
manufacturing IT hardware in India its citizens. been registered and companies who nounced it was exiting an ambitious
which will ultimately result in fur- “It is govts objective to ensure are interested can submit applica- $19.4 billion joint venture with Ve-
ther lowering of the prices of such trusted hardware n systems, reduce tions until August 30. danta (VEDL), an Indian metals and
hardware. import dependence and increase Earlier this year, India’s com- energy conglomerate, to help build
On Thursday, the Directorate domestic mfg of this category of merce minister, Piyush Goyal, said one of the country’s first chip factories.

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