Hardware PLI Scheme: Dell, HP, 25 Others Get Govt’s Approval To Make In India

SUMMARY

23 out of 27 approved applicants are ready to start manufacturing on day zero, said IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

The approved companies will invest $360 Mn collectively to manufacture IT hardware products with a cumulative production value of $42 Bn

Under this scheme, the IT ministry shall offer an incentives in the range of 1% to 4% on net incremental sales (over base year) of goods manufactured in India during a four year period

The Indian government has given its nod to 27 global IT firms, including Dell, HP India and Lenovo, to manufacture hardware components in the country.

The approval has been granted under the new IT hardware production linked incentive (PLI) scheme which covers laptops, tablets, servers and ultra small form factor devices.

Under this scheme, the IT ministry shall offer incentives in the range of 1% to 4% on net incremental sales (over base year) of goods manufactured in India, and covered under the target segment for a period of four years.

Commenting on the development, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “23 out of 27 approved applicants are ready to start manufacturing on day zero.”

As a part of this initiative, the approved companies will invest $360 Mn collectively to manufacture IT hardware products with a cumulative production value of $42 Bn. Under this initiative, the IT giants will create about 50,000 direct and 1.5 Lakh indirect jobs.

Earlier, there were reports that 44 hardware manufacturers had applied for manufacturing in India under the PLI scheme. However, it seems the Centre has given its nod to only 27 applications.

This announcement comes after the Centre rolled back the restrictions it imposed on the import of laptops and other electronics products. The restrictions received much criticism from the industry as giants such as Apple, Dell and Google appealed to the US President Joe Biden for intervention.

This comes close on the heels of the Centre approving 110 applications seeking authorisation to import laptops, computers and other IT hardware products. The applications came from the global tech giants namely Dell, Apple, HP, Lenovo, IBM, Asus, Samsung, Xiaomi, Cisco Commerce India, Siemens, Bosch, among others.

Amid all these developments in the IT sector, the South Korean electronics major Samsung was reported to be exploring the production of laptops at its unit in Greater Noida of Delhi NCR, which is otherwise known for mobile production.

As per a report by Market Research Future, the market value of IT hardware in India in FY22 stood at about $44.5 Bn, which is expected to reach almost $74 Bn by 2032.