India seeks to boost manufacturing with laptop licensing move

India’s decision to impose a licensing requirement for imports of laptops, tablets and personal computers will boost domestic manufacturing and ensure its tech ecosystem uses verified systems only, IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Friday.

Current regulations in the country allow companies to import laptops freely, but the new rule mandates a special licence for these products similar to restrictions India imposed in 2020 for inbound TV shipments.