Thursday, August 3rd 2023
India Imposes Import Restrictions on Prebuilt PCs
The Indian Government on Thursday announced restrictions on the import of pre-built laptop and desktop PCs, tablets, and convertibles. These restrictions take effect immediately. The decision is designed to get major PC manufacturers such as Dell, HP, Acer, Lenovo, and Apple, to manufacture their devices on Indian soil, or subject each individual PC model through a lengthy import licensing regime—essentially a penalty for not manufacturing locally. The new restrictions find several parallels to India's 2020 decision to restrict import of TVs, which caused major consumer electronics firms to rush to set up local assembly lines to keep up with the country's market demand.
The restrictions on the import of PCs is seen as complicating things for PC manufacturers, especially as the country heads into its biggest consumer cycle with Diwali (Q4-2023). India's current import restrictions on smartphones and TVs have caused most consumer electronics giants to set up assembly lines in India; however these lines barely contribute 20% of value-addition to the product (i.e. much of the product comes knocked down and is simply put together); however manufacturers are incentivized to localize more of their value-addition, through the country's performance-linked incentives (PLI) scheme. Certain whitebox ODMs have localized even PCB placement, and display panel manufacturing. India's ICT imports for the period of just Q2-2023 stood at $19.7 billion, the country clocks roughly $75-90 billion in ICT/PC sales per year.
Source:
Nikkei Asia
The restrictions on the import of PCs is seen as complicating things for PC manufacturers, especially as the country heads into its biggest consumer cycle with Diwali (Q4-2023). India's current import restrictions on smartphones and TVs have caused most consumer electronics giants to set up assembly lines in India; however these lines barely contribute 20% of value-addition to the product (i.e. much of the product comes knocked down and is simply put together); however manufacturers are incentivized to localize more of their value-addition, through the country's performance-linked incentives (PLI) scheme. Certain whitebox ODMs have localized even PCB placement, and display panel manufacturing. India's ICT imports for the period of just Q2-2023 stood at $19.7 billion, the country clocks roughly $75-90 billion in ICT/PC sales per year.
33 Comments on India Imposes Import Restrictions on Prebuilt PCs
But a massive movement of manufacturing relocating in a country could be also the first step to improve in the long run that country's working and living conditions. If huge numbers of factories got build in India that will be a huge win for India. Having those facilities there, the government can slowly start making laws that will secure minimal working conditions and wages in those factories, while at the same time avoid angering the corporations. You know, there are many Chinese tourists in Greece every year. I can't say the same about Indian tourists. Maybe people from India prefer other destinations, or maybe all this manufacturing in China does make many people wealthy enough to come this way for vacations.
But the Chinese PC market is so generic worldwide because most cant afford an expensive model form HP/Dell/Apple; so most PCs are all sold under nameless grey-market bricks you can only buy on alibaba
Expect the same race-to-the-bottom there, much like their mass-produced Chinese sub $200 Android phones - as long as Intel considers android a threat, it will continue to dump sub-150 system price dual-core PC components on the market!
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