No proposal to put import restrictions on more electronic goods at present: Commerce Secy

There is no proposal at present to impose import restrictions on more electronic goods, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Monday.

The government has decided to impose import curbs on laptops, personal computers and certain more electronic devices from November 1 on security grounds to reduce imports from nations like China and boost domestic manufacturing. Barthwal said there is a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for electronics and mobile manufacturing.

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“We are monitoring our imports. We are also looking that there should not be undue dependence on any particular country. We want to diversify both our exports as well as our imports. “We do not want ourselves to be dependent upon very few sources of imports…So what we are doing, we are evaluating the position in consultation with various ministries. We are looking at trends, but there is nothing in the offing, as of now,” he told reporters here.

He was replying to a question about whether the government is looking at putting more electronic goods under the licensing regime. “As and when we feel that…we will do it in consultation with the ministries. But currently, there is no such move,” the secretary added.