India says Dell, HP among 32 firms that applied to make laptops locally

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - At least 32 international electronics companies have applied to India's incentive programme to make laptops, tablets and servers in the country, a top minister said on Wednesday, weeks after the government announced restrictions on laptop imports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is pushing to boost domestic manufacturing capacity under its "Make in India" initiative, with several global companies either setting up their own units or entering joint ventures with Indian firms.

The applications by the electronics companies were made under the country's $2 billion production-linked incentive (PLI) programme for information technology hardware, announced in May, Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

Earlier this month, India said it would impose a licensing requirement for imports of laptops, tablets and personal computers, which was widely seen as a move to boost local production.

The companies that have applied to make laptops and other products in India include Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co, Dell Technologies, Asus, Acer and Lenovo, said Vaishnaw, according to a video feed from ANI news agency, in which Reuters has a minority stake.

The PLI scheme for IT hardware is expected to bring 24.3 billion rupees ($294.24 million) of incremental investment and is likely to generate 75,000 direct jobs, the minister said.

($1 = 82.5855 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Blassy Boben; editing by Jonathan Oatis)