Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said that an "overwhelming response" has been received for the production of laptops and PCs under the hardware Production Linked Incentive scheme (PLI). He said that 32 applications have been received so far under the scheme, whose application window will close on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference, Ashwini Vaishnaw said: "Overwhelming response received for the production of laptops and PCs under the hardware Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) scheme. Companies that will be manufacturing laptops include HP India, Dell, Acer, Lenovo, Thomson and others. Servers will be made by HP Enterprises."
"We are likely to see expected incremental production of Rs 3.35 lakh crore. The expected direct employment is going to be 75,000," he added. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware was notified on May 29, 2023, with a budgetary outlay of Rs 17,000 crore. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave the approval for the scheme.
"Production of PCs, laptops, servers will increase in months to come. India is emerging as a trusted supply chain partner and value added partner… companies are happy to come to India for manufacturing and design,” Vaishnaw said at a media briefing.
Government sources told India Today that Apple Inc is in talks with government to manufacture iPad in India.
The PLI scheme 2.0 for IT hardware scheme will allow applicants to choose 2023, 2024 or 2025 as the base year for starting production and envisages an incentive of up to 5% on incremental sales, more than double the roughly 2% being offered under the first phase.
As part of its AatmaNirbhar and Make in India plan, the government launched PLI schemes in varied sectors to make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investments, enhance exports, integrate India into the global supply chain and reduce dependency on imports.
With inputs from Aishwarya Palliwal