Why India is rushing to restrict laptop, tablet imports

livemint.com:

Government restricts import of laptop, computers, tablets] for computing devices such as laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers (PCs), and servers that has now been [Government delays licensing mandate for import of laptops and PCs by 3 months] pushed by three months to 1 November, the idea of becoming an Atmanirbhar Bharat or a self-reliant India in the information technology (IT) hardware space remains a compelling, and logical proposition for the country on many counts. First, it will help the country reduce its imports from China (India’s trade deficit with China stood at $83.1 billion in 2022-23), pre-empt other geopolitical pressures that impact trading, and strengthen the country's hardware supply chain.

Second, it will help the country save millions of dollars in foreign exchange. Third, it has the potential to create thousands of additional jobs, while enriching the electronics manufacturing ecosystem and foster more research and development (R&D) in the country.

Fourth, it will help the country address a large addressable global IT hardware market, too. Fifth, the move is a part of the government’s target of achieving self-sufficiency in domestic electronics manufacturing by 2025–26, and in sync with the country's aggressive digital push -- be it with mobile phone manufacturing, ecommerce, digital payments, or even the shift from cable to over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

Mobile phone manufacturing shows the way India imported all its mobile phones till 2005. Finland's Nokia set up a factory in Chennai in 2006 but unfortunately had to shut down in 2014, and now another Finnish company Salcomp—a supplier of chargers to Apple—owns the factory.