HP looks to double down on PC production in India

NEW DELHI: As India moves towards finalising a bilateral trade agreement with the US, American computer giant HP on Thursday said it will grow its manufacturing engagement in the country and will push for making more desktops and laptops.

HP doubled its manufacturing output in the country last year, led by the Rs 17,000-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for making IT hardware and plans to grow the footprint of local production even further, India MD Ipsita Dasgupta said. “We are growing and are manufacturing through PLI with Dixon. So, we are growing our manufacturing in India. And every year over the next few years, you will see a proportional rise in the percentage of manufacturing here,” Dasgupta told TOI. The company leads the computer market in India and has now been going deeper into the country with new retail formats such as ‘HP Connect’— aimed at Tier 2and Tier 3 towns — that targets MSME clusters and household consumers.


Dasgupta said production is being ramped up swiftly, especially as the ecosystem for manufacturing picks up. “Within our first year, we will double our manufacturing percentage in India. We’re making all-in-ones, desktops, and laptops.”

Asked about the benefits of making in India, she said the PLI incentives are a significant enabler. “But more importantly, I think it’s exciting to be part of India’s desire to be a significant part of the global value chain . We have a large consumer base in India. So, as you make more in India, you also learn more about making in India. And that’s not something that we would want to be left out of.”

She said the company believes that it will see more benefits of local manufacturing as the supplier ecosystem develops and becomes more cost-friendly. “You know, there’s still maths to be done on that, but it will get more cost-friendly. It’s getting there. And I actually think in the next two-three years, this will be something that the Indian ecosystem has surmounted.”