In September this year, the government extended the approval system for the import of certain IT hardware products, including laptops and tablets, by three months till December 31.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal says India has caught the world’s attention, and global investors are eager to invest here.
New guidelines on India’s laptop import policy are still under consideration by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. Asked about the import permit system and what kind of guidelines the government is looking at for IT hardware products, Goyal said, “I think, it is still under consideration. It has to be done by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. I don’t care what they have in mind for the future.”
It may be mentioned here that the government had in September this year extended the approval system for import of certain IT hardware products including laptops and tablets by three months till December 31.
These imports stood at US$ 8.4 billion in 2023-24 against a sanction of about US$ 9.5 billion. Most of these imports were coming from China.
“It is clarified that importers are allowed to apply for import permits, which will be valid till December 31, 2024. Further, existing import permits issued till September 30, 2024 will remain valid till December 31, 2024. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a policy circular in September.
Importers will be required to apply for new permits from January 1, 2025, “subject to detailed guidance that will be provided shortly”.
Meanwhile, Goyal also praised Japan’s SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son, who met the founders of the portfolio companies during his pit stop in Delhi on Wednesday.
“As for Masayoshi Son, I very much welcome his announcement to further increase investment in India. I had a lot of engagement with him when I was the Minister of Power and Renewable Energy. And they found a very bold investor who believed in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the story of India… Of course, India is a country where people have made good profits,” said the commerce and industry minister.
The Minister said that India has attracted the attention of the world and global investors are eager to invest here.
“Everywhere we go, there’s a lot of interest to come and invest in India, the desire to invest, and we’re investing in India and in India,” he said of the billionaire founder of Japan’s SoftBank Group. Son will be warmly welcomed to keep looking at the possibilities.”
The minister added that he expects India’s exports of goods and services to cross USD 800 billion in the current fiscal year 2025, despite back-to-back wars as well as the Red Sea crisis. Despite the geopolitical challenges.
“In this current year 2024-25, we expect exports to cross $800 billion for the first time in India’s history, despite inheriting such a weak economy, with the Indian currency the strongest among all. One of the performing currencies is emerging markets and not falling… Despite two years of covid, two international wars and the Red Sea crisis, despite all these challenges, India has maintained its position under the Prime Minister. Exports have doubled under Modi,” Goyal said.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed. PTI)