Dixon to make laptops, PCs for HP in India

NEW DELHI: In a leg-up to govt's efforts to make laptops in India through homegrown companies, American computer giant HP has given out a mega manufacturing order to local contract manufacturer Dixon Technologies.

The order is for making laptops and desktops and production will be done at Dixon's unit at Oragadam outside Chennai, chairman Sunil Vachani told TOI. "We are planning to start production by April next year," Vachani said, adding that the company will make them under govt's IT hardware production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

"The order from HP is prestigious one, and will help strengthen govt's Make in India initiative and Atmanirbhar Bharat programme," he said.

It is yet not clear on how much of its computers will HP make in India, against importing them. Dixon is likely to invest around Rs 250 crore for the project, though Vachani didn't give any immediate confirmation. Dixon already manufactures computers for Acer, but these are being made at its facility in Noida.

For HP, the partnership deepens the company's commitment in India, and its localisation efforts. Ipsita Dasgupta, the company's India MD, has already spoken about the intent to manufacture and source more from India as she expects the computer market to double over the next five years.

"I believe the PLI scheme has been a great enabler. We are participating in it because it creates a bridge for the development of the sector from a manufacturing perspective. We are quite bullish that the ecosystem will develop over the next few years, and that too pretty quickly. In the intervening period, the PLI is a solid programme. I think the starting point has been a very measured and a strong initiative by govt," she had told TOI recently.