Vijay Shekhar Sharma Backs India's Decision To Impose Import Restrictions On Laptops, Computers

The government on Thursday imposed import restrictions on laptops, tablets, and certain types of computers with immediate effect. Importers of these items would now have to seek permission or license from the government for their inbound shipments.

The restrictions are also there on microcomputers, large or mainframe computers, and certain data processing machines. Import of all these items would be allowed against a valid license.

According to a report by the think-tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India's 65 percent imports from China are limited to just three product groups - electronics, machinery, and organic chemicals. The report also said that India is dependent on China for day-to-day use and industrial products like mobile phones, laptops, components, solar cell modules, and ICs.

Hence, the government has taken several steps to boost domestic manufacturing of electronic items such as rolling out the production-linked incentive scheme and increasing customs duties on the number of electronic components.

Some of the electronic brands which are sold in the market are HCL, Samsung, Dell, LG Electronics, Acer, Apple, Lenovo, and HP.