Dell, HP among 32 firms that applied to make laptops locally: Vaishnaw

As many as 32 companies, including big names like Foxconn Group, HP, Dell and Lenovo, have applied for incentives under the Rs 17,000-crore Production Linked Incentive IT hardware scheme for manufacturing laptops, PCs and servers, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

Others who have thrown their hat into the ring include Flextronics, Dixon, Acer, Thompson, VVDN, HP Enterprises and Asus, Vaishnaw, who is Minister for Electronics and IT, said terming the response from companies as "fabulous". Cupertino, California-headquartered Apple has, however, not applied so far.

PLI for IT hardware covers laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, servers and ultra-small form factor devices.

India is wooing global IT and electronics players with policy sweeteners and incentive schemes, making a push to position itself as a global powerhouse for hi-tech manufacturing.

Vaishnaw said 32 companies have applied under the PLI scheme for IT hardware "which is a very good response, much more than we had anticipated".

Foxconn Group, HP, Dell and Lenovo, too, have applied under the ambitious scheme.

"India is emerging as a trusted supply chain partner and value added partner...companies are happy to come to India for manufacturing and design work," the Minister said at a media briefing.

Electronics manufacturing in India has witnessed consistent growth with 17 per cent Compounded Annual Growth Rate in the last 8 years. This year it surpassed a major benchmark in production - USD 105 billion (about Rs 9 lakh crore).

India has emerged as the world's second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones. Exports of mobile phones crossed a major milestone of USD 11 billion this year (about Rs 90,000 crore).

The budgetary outlay of the PLI scheme for IT hardware is Rs 17,000 crore, with six-year tenure. The expected incremental production under the scheme is pegged at Rs 3.35 lakh crore, and the incremental investment is Rs 2,430 crore, and the scheme is seen generating 75,000 direct jobs, and potential for indirect employment is three times that.

"Dixon will have one plant in Noida which will have 20,000 employees," Vaishnaw said adding that the facility has been constructed already and it soon start functioning.

The window for submission applications for PLI IT hardware scheme closes tonight at 1159 hours, though Apple has not yet put in its application under the incentive scheme.

Many players are investing resources in designing as well. "Many people are investing in design services also...they would like to have the design also done in India, that build on value addition further," he said.

Most companies will begin production from April 2024, and the rest from 2025.

India has scripted a success story in mobile phone production and a similar Make in India success story is expected to play out in the manufacturing of laptops, PCs and servers.

Many of these applicants will be using semiconductors manufactured in India, bolstering an end-to-end ecosystem framework.

The Minister said that applicants and companies are not concerned about the import licence move.