Not long ago, the Government of India imposed restrictions on the import of laptops and tablets. The motive was to push companies towards local manufacturing, as the majority of laptops sold in India are imported from overseas.
However, the government temporarily eased these restrictions to avoid a sudden shortage of computer devices in the country. Laptop companies on the other hand have clearly received the message, as over 23 companies will now immediately start manufacturing computers and other hardware in India.
Companies Line Up to Manufacture Laptops in India Under PLI Scheme
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister For Electronics and IT in India, said that 27 companies have been approved under India’s performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. These companies will manufacture laptops, computers, servers, and other hardware equipment in the country.
Out of these 27 companies, 23 are ready to start production from day zero. These businesses will invest over Rs 3000 crores in their manufacturing projects and will benefit from the upgraded PLI scheme of the government worth Rs 17,000 crores.
Here’s the list of companies ready to start the local production of laptops in India:
- Dell
- HP
- Lenovo
- Acer
- ASUS
- Thomson
- Foxconn
- ICT Service Management Solutions
- Rising Stars Hi-Tech
- Flextronics Technologies India
- Lava International
- Dixon Technologies
- Infopower Technologies
- Bhagwati Products
- Neolync Tele Communications
- Optiemus Electronics
- Netweb Technologies India
- Smile Electronics
- VVDN Technologies
- Panache Digilife
- Syrma
- Sahasra
- Keynes Tech
The list contains a lot of Indian companies, which will manufacture devices and equipment for global computer brands. It’s a win-win situation for both parties as local players gain technical expertise in computer production, while foreign brands benefit from incentives and tax savings from the Government of India.
Recently, France-based Thomson Computing announced a new partnership with India’s Sahasra Group to manufacture laptops and tablets in India. This duo will focus on making laptops in the affordable segment with prices around Rs 25,000.
India’s PC Market Witnessing Tremendous Growth
Research Firm IDC reported that India witnessed record-breaking computer sales in Q3 2023. A total of 4.5 million computers were sold in the recent quarter, the highest ever in the region.
The Indian PC market mainly consists of five players: HP, Lenovo, Dell, ASUS, and Acer. These companies account for 85% market share in computer and laptop sales in the country.
All five companies are now ready to locally manufacture laptops in India. This indicates that in the upcoming years, the majority of the laptop units sold in the country will be sourced locally.
It is worth noting that India has already succeded in this model in the smartphone market. Companies like Apple and Xiaomi manufacture most of their products locally in the country. For reference, the latest iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus are manufactured at Foxconn’s facility in Tamil Nadu. Apple also exports these units overseas in global markets.
The local production of laptops will also help to bring down the cost of individual units, making them more affordable. This will make laptops and computers more accessible to users, just like how we saw with the rise of affordable smartphones.
