Timeline for implementation of import restriction on laptops likely to be extended: Sources
New Delhi, Aug 04: The government is likely to push its order of licensing requirement for imports of laptops, PC and tablets by at least a month, sources said, as officials did fire-fighting after the decision announcement took the industry by surprise.
The move is expected to offer a breather to companies, who have been on tenterhooks following Thursday's order. DGFT will soon issue a notification on timeline extension, IT Ministry sources said.
In a post on 'X' social media platform (earlier known as Twitter), Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said: ''There will be a transition period for this to be put into effect, which will be notified soon''.
Meanwhile, IT Ministry sources indicated that implementation timelines will be extended by at least a month, which means players will have more time in hand to apply for a licence if they wish to import these products.
Time will be given to companies so that they apply for licences, sources said, adding that timelines will be extended and the restrictions will not be effective immediately.
The licences, when applied, will be cleared quickly if details are filled in the right order, they said, assuring that shipments and consignments in transit will face no problem at ports for now. The government is extending all support to the industry for the clearance of shipments in transit.
A few companies have already applied for online licences after the order.
The government on Thursday imposed import restrictions on laptops, tablets, and certain types of computers with immediate effect for security reasons and the need to promote domestic manufacturing. The move will also curtail inbound shipments of these goods from countries like China and Korea.
Importers of these items would now have to seek permission or license from the government for their inbound shipments.
The government's latest move to impose import restrictions on laptops, tablets and certain types of computers, and allow their import only through valid licences was triggered by ''security concerns'', sources said.
Import curbs will allow the Centre to keep a close watch on locations from where products are coming from, they said.
The decision will also spur domestic manufacturing, at a time when India has identified electronics manufacturing as a key priority area for its future growth ambitions and is hoping to attract investments from global biggies looking to diversify their operations outside China.
Under PLI 2.0 IT hardware scheme, 44 companies have already been registered and two companies have filed their application on the scheme portal by July 31, 2023. The companies can submit applications till August 30, 2023. Sources said two companies, including HP, have already applied under the PLI scheme.
Further, sources said that licences can be taken for one year and added that companies can apply multiple times, and multiple units can apply for licences as well. DGFT has prepared a portal for companies/traders to apply online for the licence.
IT Ministry sources said that the scale-up of domestic production will lead to lower hardware prices for consumers.
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Tharoor junks Rijiju's claim that he agreed Cong is 'anti-women'; hails his party
New Delhi (PTI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday debunked Union minister Kiren Rijiju's reported claim that the opposition party leader had agreed that the Congress is "anti-women", asserting that at no point did he imply any such thing and that his party has stood for women's rights and reservation.
Reacting to Rijiju's claims, Tharoor stressed that the Congress is totally in favour of women's reservation and prepared to have it implemented right now -- without linking it to delimitation.
In a post on X, the Congress leader said, "I am sorry, but with the greatest respect for Kiren Rijiju, at no point did I say or imply any such thing -- and I have seven witnesses in the photograph who can confirm that!"
"'That was what he meant', our Minister says. No, sir, that is NOT what I meant. 'That Congress can be anti-women...he agreed in a way,' he added. I am sorry but I did NOT agree in any way," Tharoor said.
"The Congress has stood for women's rights and women's reservation under a strong woman president in Sonia Gandhi, initiated the Women's Reservation Bill, passed it in the Rajya Sabha during our tenure and supported it in the Lok Sabha when it was brought by government of India in 2023," he said.
"We are totally in favour of women's reservation and are prepared to have it implemented right now -- without linking it to delimitation," the Thiruvananthapuram MP added.
Rijiju's reported comments came while narrating details of the conversation he had with Tharoor on April 18 after the end of the three-day special sitting of Parliament during which the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated in the Lok Sabha.
Tharoor on April 18 had shared a snippet of his conversation with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju after the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die, and said the BJP leader conceded that “no one could ever call me anti-women”.
Tharoor had said women are by far the better half of the species - 'Humans 2.0' - and deserve representation in Parliament and in every institution.
"Just don’t link their advancement to a mischievous and potentially dangerous Delimitation that could devastate our democracy," he had said on X.
Sharing a picture of some opposition MPs standing with Rijiju in the Lok Sabha, Tharoor had said, "A little post-adjournment gathering of Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha with our charming Parliamentary Affairs Minister.
"When Kiren Rijiju explained why he and his party were calling the Opposition 'mahila virodhi', it was pointed out to him that no one could ever call me anti-women! He conceded the point…"
While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
The Bill proposed to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and UT assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
The three-day special sitting was convened from April 16 to 18 to secure Parliament's approval for the Bill.
After the bill was defeated, the Congress had said the "nefarious attempt" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to link their "dangerous delimitation proposals" to women's reservation had been decisively defeated in the Lok Sabha, calling it a win for democracy and the Constitution.
I am sorry, but with the greatest respect for @KirenRijiju, at no point did I say or imply any such thing -- and I have seven witnesses in the photograph who can confirm that!
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 28, 2026
"That was what he meant", our Minister says. No, sir, that is NOT what I meant. "That Congress can be… https://t.co/hkUsYgOY7a
