India has held up the approvals for the import for certain electronic products made in China for months. This hold up has also caused Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, along with US brands like Dell and HP to delay their product launches in the region.
According to a Reuters report, the local government has held up approvals for import of WiFi modules from China. This has caused electronic products maker to suffer from delayed launches in the key growth market. The hold up on approvals have caused delay of even finished products as well, like Bluetooth speakers, wireless earphones, smartphones, smartwatches, and laptops, with all of these gadgets also housing WiFi modules.
As per sources close to the matter, the Communications Ministry’s Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) Wing has withheld approval since November 2020. The source even added that the various firms have been lobbying in a move to receive clearance. The report noted that over 80 applications are currently impending approval, including US, Chinese, and South Korean firms that have been been waiting for approval from WPC.
Unfortunately, Dell, HP, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and Lenovo have yet to respond to any requests for comment. This move from WPC also signifies India’s stance on Chinese imports, as the nations Prime Minister calls for greater economic self reliance. One of the source added that “the government’s idea is to push companies to manufacture these products in India. But tech companies are caught in a difficult situation – making in India would mean big-ticket investments and a long wait for returns, on the other hand the government-imposed hurdle on imports means a potential loss of revenues.”
RELATED:
- PUBG maker announces Battlegrounds Mobile India, pre-registerations to start soon
- COVID 19 impact on India’s offline phone market could lead to 50,000 job losses
- Indian smartphone market witnesses 26% YoY growth in Q1 2021: Report
