The Indian government has been successful in making smartphones within the country, and now they're using a similar approach to boost the production of tablets, laptops, server equipment, and desktop PCs. They've decided that from now on, you can only bring in these electronics if you have a special permit, which won't be easy to get. The idea is to help the local industry grow.
In the last three months, India imported more electronic devices compared to the same time last year, spending $19.7 billion. Electronics make up about 7 to 10% of all the things India imports, which adds up to $60 billion each year. However, only a tiny part of what's imported are tablets, laptops, and desktop computers – about 1.5%. Many of these come from China. In contrast, Indian companies made $38 billion worth of smartphones last year, but only managed $4 billion for tablets and laptops.
It seems like the Indian government is hoping that making tablets, laptops, and PCs inside the country will help the industry grow, just like it did with smartphones a few years ago. India's goal is to make electronic devices worth $300 billion every year by 2026. This won't be easy without making tablets, laptops, and PCs. They're using two methods to encourage this – one is making it harder to import these devices, and the other is giving money to companies that want to make these devices in India. Companies can get up to $2.1 billion from the government to set up their own factories. If companies want this money, they need to apply by August 30 this year.
