In September this year, the government extended the approval system for import of certain IT hardware products, including laptops and tablets, by three months till December 31.
New guidelines on India’s laptop import policy are still under consideration by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. Asked about the import authorization system for IT hardware products and what kind of guidelines the government is looking at, Goyal said, “I think, this is still under consideration. It is administered by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. I don’t know what they have in mind for the future.”
It may be mentioned here that in September this year, the government extended the approval system for import of certain IT hardware products, including laptops and tablets, for three months till December 31.
These imports were USD 8.4 billion against authorization of around USD 9.5 billion in 2023-24. Most of these imports were coming from China.
“It is clarified that importers are allowed to apply for import authorizations, which will be valid till December 31, 2024. Further, the existing import authorizations issued till September 30, 2024 will remain valid till December 31, 2024. Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a policy circular in September.
Importers will have to apply for fresh authorization from January 1, 2025, “subject to detailed guidance to be provided shortly”.
Meanwhile, Goyal also praised Japan’s SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son, who met the founders of the portfolio companies during his pitstop in Delhi on Wednesday.
“As for Masayoshi Putra, I welcome his announcement to increase further investment in India. I have had some engagements with him when I was Power and Renewable Energy Minister and he got a very bold investor who believed in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India’s story… Definitely, India is a country where people get good returns. ,” said the Commerce and Industry Minister.
The minister said that India has caught the attention of the world and global investors are eager to invest here.
“Wherever we go there is a huge interest, investment appetite to come and invest in India, and we would very much welcome the son to continue looking at India and investment opportunities in India,” he said of the billionaire founder of Japan’s SoftBank Group.
The minister further said that he expects India’s exports of goods and services to cross USD 800 billion in the current fiscal year 2025, despite geopolitical challenges due to back-to-back wars as well as the Red Sea crisis.
“In this current year 2024-25, we expect exports to cross $800 billion for the first time in India’s history, despite having inherited such a weak economy, despite the Indian currency being one of the strongest performing currencies of all. Emerging markets and not devaluation… Despite two years of Covid, two international wars and the Red Sea crisis, despite all these challenges, India has doubled its exports during the Prime Minister’s tenure. Modi’s tenure,” Goyal said.