Samsung Electronics has been making a push towards local manufacturing in India, producing its robust lineup of smartphones in the country. Now, the South Korean technology conglomerate seems intent on making laptops in India, too. Samsung reportedly plans to start laptop production next month, giving a push to the centre's Make in India scheme. With the lure of incentives, electronic manufacturers are increasingly looking away from China and setting up plants in India.
According to a report in the Mint, Samsung has expanded its Greater Noida factory that produces mobile phones to include a new laptop manufacturing unit. This new unit is reportedly capable of making 60,000 to 70,000 laptops annually.
Quoting an anonymous source, the report said that the new unit will begin operations next month. Manufacturing 60,000 to 70,000 laptops annually represents an investment of about Rs. 100 - 200 crore, the source added.
Gadgets 360 has reached out to Samsung India with a list of queries over the development. We will update the story with the company's response.
The development comes after the Indian government imposed a licensing requirement for imports of laptops, tablets, and personal computers last month. The latest restrictions on electronics import are meant to boost domestic manufacturing, especially as relations between India and China and China and the West sour. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, had said on X at the time of the announcement that the new rule would ensure India's tech eco-system uses "trusted and verified systems only that are imported and/or domestically manufactured trusted systems/products."
In May, the centre approved a Rs. 17,000 crore incentive to boost local manufacturing of IT hardware like tablets and laptops. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 2.0, which covers laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, servers, and ultra-small form factor devices, is projected to generate an incremental production worth Rs. 3.35 lakh crore over a period of six years.
"For IT PLI, the budgetary outlay is Rs. 17,000 crore. The tenure of the programme is six years... we will accept first set of applications by October," IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said after the Cabinet meeting.
Just in the heels of the announcement, it was reported that Samsung and Apple were interested in increasing local electronics production in India. “We've had considerable success and tailwinds in the smartphone segment and we have increased interest from the likes of Apple and Samsung in expanding and growing here,” Chandrasekhar had told Bloomberg. “We want to essentially replay that and add to that.”
Not all has been smooth sailing, however, for Samsung in India. The company was reportedly struggling to collect manufacturing incentives it said it was owed by the Indian government earlier this year. Samsung India was said to be seeking nearly Rs. 900 crore in incentives for the fiscal year through March 2021, with the government only ready to give Rs. 165 crore, unless the South Korean giant could provide supporting documents for its claim.
