New Delhi: The government is planning to delay the implementation of the new import licensing rules for laptops, tablets and all-in-one PCs by about a year. This change has come after 40 companies including the likes of HP, Dell and Lenovo applied to set up plants in the country under thePLI scheme 2.0 for IT hardware.
The discussions between the government and industry are at an advanced stage amid indications that the Centre will postpone the implementation of the licensing rules. The PLI scheme has received a positive response. Consequently the government feels the PC companies should be given at least a year to show results on domestic manufacturing. The scheme is aimed at broadening and deepening the IT hardware manufacturing ecosystem in the country.
On August 3, the government announced immediate restrictions on the imports of laptops, tablets and PCs. It had therein notified that the companies will be able to import such products only after a valid license. The move is not to restrict import but rather to ensure the imports of equipment, servers and laptops are coming from trusted sources.
The public should not be exposed to systems which might have security risks against the background of rapid internet penetration in the country. Some of the hardware could potentially have security related issues and could compromise sensitive and personal data.
Justifying the need to extend the deadline, the PC vendors clarified that the manufacturing process takes time and cannot be done immediately as it involves developing a supply chain. Besides, the import curbs will increase the prices of such devices in the Indian market.
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