The Centre on Friday clarified that restrictions on the import of laptops, tablets and personal computers will not be imposed immediately and there will be a transition period.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the duration of the transition period will be notified soon by the government.
Chandrasekhar said that that move is aimed at ensuring that India’s tech ecosystem uses trusted and verified systems.
“It is the government’s objective to ensure trusted hardware and systems, reduce import dependence and increase domestic manufacturing of this category of products,” the minister said in a tweet.
The restrictions on the import were notified by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade on Thursday.
The notification said that the import of these items is allowed only after obtaining a licence. However, there is no restriction under the baggage rules, which allow importing a limited number of items from one country to another through courier or post.
A senior government official had told The Indian Express that the decision was taken to push electronics sector companies to manufacture locally in India. The move is also being seen as an attempt to restrict supplies from China.
In the April-June quarter, India’s electronics imports, which include laptops, tablets and personal computers, had gone up by 6.25% on a year-on-year basis to $19.7 billion (Rs 1.63 lakh crore), reported Reuters.
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