On August 3, India announced that it will impose restrictions on the import of some personal computer products, requiring imports from notebooks to tablet computers to obtain licenses. This is the latest in a series of measures aimed at encouraging local electronics production by the Indian government. move. However, orders placed before August 31 will be shipped without a permit.

Current Indian regulations allow companies to freely import laptops, but the new rules require special licenses for these products, similar to restrictions India imposed on inbound TV shipments in 2020.

Industry sources say the licensing system will mean a longer wait time for each new model they launch, and it will take place ahead of India's peak sales season, when sales typically surge. It is reported that India's imports of electronic products, including laptops, tablets and personal computers, amounted to US$19.7 billion in the April-June period, a year-on-year increase of 6.25%.

Dell, Acer, Samsung, LG Electronics, Apple, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard are the major players selling laptops in the Indian market and import a large portion of their products from countries such as China.

The Indian government is reported to have extended the deadline for companies to apply for a $2 billion incentive program to attract large investments in IT hardware manufacturing, which covers products such as laptops, tablets, PCs and servers.

The plan is central to India's idea of becoming a powerhouse in the global electronics supply chain, with the country aiming to be worth $300 billion a year by 2026. The country has in the past imposed high tariffs on products such as mobile phones to stimulate domestic output.

In addition to boosting local manufacturing, the government's move is aimed at limiting supplies from China amid government concerns over the safety of such products, the sources said. It also added that this restriction will help India import such hardware only from "trusted partners".