Unfazed by the controversy over govt’s sudden diktat to laptop makers last year to restrict imports from countries like China (the decision was rescinded later), Dasgupta, MD, HP India, tells TOI in an interview that India is a natural contender for being a manufacturing powerhouse and PLI scheme has only sweetened the deal.Excerpts:
There was a lull in computer sales after Covid boom. Is the demand back?
Now, we are seeing market starting to grow. Also, if you take pre-Covid (numbers) and post-Covid, the market has grown by 50%. As far as the surge during Covid was concerned, it was a very unique situation. Overall, we expect the market size to double over next five years.
Govt had pushed laptop makers to Make in India and restricted imports and had announced an import management system to monitor progress. Was this knee-jerk?
Govt had to start somewhere. The PLI scheme has been a great enabler. We are participating in it because it creates a bridge for development of the sector from a manufacturing perspective. We are quite bullish that the ecosystem will develop over next few years and that too pretty quickly. In the intervening period, PLI is a solid programme. The starting point has been a very measured and a strong initiative.
You manufacture laptops in India in partnership with Flex. There are reports that you are looking at local suppliers like Dixon and VVDN to deepen manufacturing here?
We started with Flex in August 2020 as we began making laptops here… We are going to further expand manufacturing. We are always assessing possible partnerships and possible relationships.
In smartphones, almost all devices are being made in India. In laptops, nearly 75% are coming from China. Will this ever change?
The fact is we will increase manufacturing in India. This is our intention. We are excited about doing it. I can’t get into targets and numbers. But absolutely, the industry is moving forward and govt is encouraging it in all the right ways.
Are there any policy or regulatory disabilities in India?
Not really. Level of interest and support that we see from govt needs to be sustained. That will be really important. We have no other concerns and are quite excited.
