Apple, Samsung and HP, among the big companies manufacturing devices, have stopped the import of laptops and tablets in India. The central government had on Thursday banned the import of these devices without a license. Its objective is to increase local manufacturing of electronics. However, this decision of the government has dealt a big blow to companies manufacturing personal computers, laptops and tablets. Most of these companies import these devices for sale in the country. In the Bloomberg report, quoting sources having knowledge of this matter, it has been said that these companies are in talks with the government to soon get a license to import these devices. For them the festival season is very important in terms of sales. Queries sent to Apple, Samsung and HP in this regard did not receive any response. This may increase problems for companies like Apple and Samsung. These companies are already struggling with excess inventory in the international market and slowing growth. This decision can have a big impact on the import of laptops and personal computers from China. The import of electronics in the country during April to June was approximately $19.7 billion. This included laptops, personal computers and tablets. In this regard, it was stated in the notice issued by the government, “Import will be allowed on valid license for limited import.” The share of electronics in the country’s total merchandise imports is 7 to 10 percent. Ali Akhtar Jafri, former director general of MAIT, an organization associated with the electronics industry, says, “The purpose of this decision is to increase manufacturing in the country.” Through production-linked incentives, the government is trying to increase local manufacturing in more than two dozen sectors including electronics. With an aim to attract large investments in IT hardware manufacturing, the government has extended the deadline to apply for the $2 billion Manufacturing Incentive Scheme. This scheme is important to make the country a major force in the global electronics supply chain. The government aims to increase the annual production of electronics to $300 billion by 2026. Big companies selling laptops in the country include Apple, Dell, Lenovo and HP, Acer, Samsung and LG. A large number of laptops are imported from countries like China.
