India must pursue policies to boost domestic production of laptops: GTRI

India’s efforts to bolster local production of mobile phones, and laptops are in the right direction, the GTRI said.

India should pursue policies for promoting domestic production of laptops and other electronics products as over-dependence on one country poses future supply risk, think tank GTRI said on Wednesday.

As the government has decided to impose import curbs on these electronic devices, importers would have to seek a licence from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) from November 1. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) also said that global firms may feel uncomfortable about import restrictions, as it will compel them to invest in India to maintain their current level of business.

"Few have got their home countries to voice opposition. But, India, as one of the world’s leading economies, must navigate its policies independently," GTRI Co-Founder Ajay Srivastava said. It is worth noting that the US and the EU have taken more stringent actions to pursue their own self-interests, he said. "The case for local laptop manufacturing in India is compelling. China dominates the PC (personal computers) and laptop market with an impressive 81 per cent share, amounting to a staggering USD 130 billion (as of 2022 data). Such over-dependence on one country poses future supply risk as Covid has demonstrated," he added.

In this context, India’s efforts to bolster local production of mobile phones, and laptops are in the right direction, the GTRI said adding, however, India must avoid incentivizing superficial shell assembly companies. "This wavering stance on import regulations may make India a subject of mockery on the global stage. The government must provide a clear and consistent policy to instil confidence in domestic and international stakeholders," Srivastava said.

Further, he said that allowing firms to have certain amounts of import quota based on their domestic manufacturing and exports and import from trusted geographies amounts to import restriction. "DGFT must first restrict imports for operationalizing such a system. Such a system cannot be automatic and will require the Government to publish objective criteria beforehand. It will be like an online import licensing system," he said.