A few weeks ago, the Indian government suddenly imposed curbs on imports of laptops in the country, and it affected brands like Apple, ASUS, HP, and Samsung. While most popular brands decided to start manufacturing laptops in India, Apple and Samsung decided that they wouldn't, but it looks like they've changed their mind.
Samsung could expand its Noida smartphone plant to make laptops
According to a new report from Mint, Samsung has decided to start manufacturing laptops in India. Two people familiar with the matter mentioned to Mint that Samsung will start manufacturing laptops at its Noida smartphone plant. The company seems to have expanded the existing facility and plans to make 60,000 to 70,000 laptops at the plant.
Compared to more prominent laptop brands, Samsung's manufacturing capacity seems lower. However, the South Korean firm recently started selling laptops in India, and since it mostly makes high-end laptops, its shipments aren't as high as those from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo.
Samsung's laptop manufacturing process could start in India next month. The South Korean manufacturer has reportedly invested around INR 1-2 billion (around $12-24 million) to produce laptops at its Noida plant. Whether or not local production would reduce the prices of Galaxy Book series laptops remains to be seen.
The Government of India plans to assign an annual quota for laptop makers to reduce the country's reliance on products and components from China. The government intends to offer collective incentives worth INR 170 billion ($2 billion) through a PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme for IT hardware over the next 5-7 years.
