Aiming to manufacture PCs domestically and drive local employment in a new Tamil Nadu facility under the PLI 2.0 scheme, Dixon’s associate Padget has joined forces with HP India.
On Monday, domestic electronics manufacturer Dixon’s subsidiary, Padget Electronics, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with HP India to produce personal computers (PCs) and laptops in the presence of Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology.
The laptops will be manufactured in a new 300,000 square feet (almost 2787 square metres) plant in Oragadam, Tamil Nadu, which Padget is manufacturing under the Centre’s product-linked incentive (PLI 2.0) scheme. The facility is aimed at producing up to 2 million units annually.
The agreement will be finalised with definitive contracts later, according to Dixon’s disclosure. Moreover, the collaboration will help HP India benefit from the PLI scheme and boost local production.
In his statement to ANI, Vaishnaw stated that the new manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu will initially create around 1,500 jobs, with more expected as production scales up. The first laptops are anticipated to be shipped by February 2025.
Dixon’s chairman and managing director, Atul Lall, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, highlighting the potential to combine HP’s technology with Padget’s manufacturing expertise.
“This announcement reaffirms our commitment to the Government’s Make in India initiative,” stated HP India’s Managing Director Ipsita Dasgupta. Highlighting the benefits of the PLI scheme, she commented, “Through this partnership, we look forward to offering our customers in India an enhanced portfolio of domestically manufactured products that combine HP’s cutting-edge technology with Dixon’s manufacturing expertise.”
Last October, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) imposed an import authorisation regime for IT hardware products due to national security and data safety concerns, which expires on September 30. This led to a 3.4% drop in imports to $8.4 billion in FY24, with China supplying 58%- 60% of the total.
As the regime is currently under review and India aims to cut down its import dependence, reports suggest that the partnership is a timely step.
