Shangliao Sun
Research expert covering India
PC market in India - statistics & facts
PCs, or personal computers, are an integral part of many people's daily lives, both for work/study and entertainment. This category includes desktops, laptops, and tablets. In India, their presence in offices and homes has become more and more popular in recent years, especially laptops. The popularity of laptops was fueled by their flexibility, mobility, and the fact that they were just as powerful as desktops. This makes India one of the most important markets for the technology hardware industry.
Some experts also suggested that the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes related to computer manufacturing did not meet the needs of the industry. The government has established PLI schemes to provide incentives to companies that increase their sales of products that are manufactured in India.
India’s Laptop market
In comparison with India’s population, the number of PCs sold each year was relatively small. And there was a clear divide in terms of PC accessibility between the urban and rural areas, largely due to income and digital infrastructure disparities. The majority of the laptop-owning households in India owned one laptop, while less than one fourth owned two or more. The most successful laptop brand in India was Hewlett-Packard. Together with Dell, they took around half of the laptop market of the country in most recent years. In recent years, the coronavirus pandemic contributed to the increased use of laptop due to increased number of people working or learning from home.Local manufacturing
The Indian government has long pushed for localization of manufacturing, including electronic hardware. Despite the success of mobile phone manufacturing in India, the laptop and PC sectors have not had the same experience. One of the main reasons for the lack of success was the WTO’s Information Technology Agreement, which India joined in 1997. The agreement exempts many products, including PCs and IT products, from import duties, resulting in a significant trade deficit in this segment.Some experts also suggested that the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes related to computer manufacturing did not meet the needs of the industry. The government has established PLI schemes to provide incentives to companies that increase their sales of products that are manufactured in India.
