Boost to domestic manufacturing of laptops, PCs as govt approves PLI scheme worth Rs 7,350 crore

In a major boost to India's manufacturing centre, the government has approved a Rs 7,350 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to promote the manufacturing of laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs and servers in the country. Through this scheme, the government intends to attract global companies in the domestic manufacturing sector. The PLI scheme will help in promoting the electronics ecosystem in the country.

At present, there is a major change in the field of global manufacturing in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The personal computer market in the country is growing rapidly due to work from home and studies from home.

What is the government's PLI scheme?

Under this new scheme, in the next four years, the manufacturing of these products is estimated to reach Rs 3.26 lakh crore and exports will reach Rs 2.45 lakh crore. This will increase the employment opportunities to 1.80 lakh.

Minister of Communications, Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after a meeting on Wednesday that the Cabinet has approved the Rs 7,350 crore PLI scheme for IT hardware. Under this, laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs and servers will be developed. The objective of this Rs 7,350 crore plan is to project India as a global hub of hardware manufacturing.

Market experts say that due to the PLI scheme, tech giant Apple can assemble some of its iPad tablets in India. There have been reports that Apple is exploring manufacturing opportunities in India. However, the company has not commented on this.

As per a statement, the benefit of this scheme will be given to five big global companies and 10 domestic 'champion' companies in the IT hardware manufacturing sector. The statement said that self-sufficiency is very important in this area because India is still dependent on the import of these products.