← Government Schemes & Missions: Industry & Infrastructure (all topics)
IT hardware PLI & assembly shift
What it is
The PLI scheme for IT hardware incentivises domestic manufacture of laptops, tablets, servers and networking equipment. Most activity begins as assembly of imported components rather than component manufacture
Data centre and enterprise networking demand is the fastest-growing domestic segment
Impact on industries
- Government and enterprise procurement preference for domestically manufactured hardware creates assured demand alongside the incentive
- Data centre build-out drives server and networking demand that is genuinely domestic rather than export-dependent
- Assembly captures little value while components, panels and processors remain imported, so the trade balance improves less than output suggests
- Tender-driven government procurement is price-competitive, and channel inventory in a fast-obsoleting product category carries real write-down risk