Lenovo, India’s second largest PC manufacturer, on Friday launched PMA-compliant (Centre’s preferential market access policy) PCs with its made-in-India motherboard. This marks a significant milestone in strengthening and expanding Lenovo’s manufacturing footprint in India, said Saurabh Agrawal, chief operating officer, Lenovo India.
Lenovo will now qualify for the Class 1 PMA bracket, with over 50% of components being fulfilled through local manufacturing for a select range of products, he told media persons.
He said that there was a specific need in terms of localisation for being able to consider of Class 1 PMA player and the company has achieved it. “Today’s launch will help us enter the government space for the supply of our PCs. This means the company will be able to make a stronger pitch for government tenders,” he said.
This announcement comes close on the heels of the unveiling of Lenovo’s shared support centre in Bengaluru in August this year, with a planned investment to advance local R&D and job creation in India.
Agrawal said, “Today marks a significant stride in our focus towards contributing to India’s ongoing mission to become self-reliant and a global manufacturing hub. The introduction of the PMA-compliant PC reinforces our efforts to Make in India and be a partner in the government’s endeavour to foster and promote technological excellence in the country.”
He added that being a part of the 27 firms included in the PLI 2.0 for IT hardware scheme has given Lenovo additional impetus to increase PC production capability.
The Pondicherry plant has an annual capacity to manufacture 1.4 million units, with the utilisation being nearly half at present. The facility manufactures nearly 4,500 units in a day per shift, with three shifts working at present. It manufactures 15 types of models, including the latest V15 and Thinkbook15.
On the current market conditions, Agrawal said that after a lull in the last couple of years, there are signs of recovery with 3-4 % growth, as per IDC. When asked if the company has any expansion plans, Agrawal said, “We are continuously working on that. The PLI is one step in that direction, and we are fully committed to that.”
He added that the company will eventually look at exporting PCs from the country. “India is an important player in Lenovo’s global manufacturing and supply chain strategy,” he said.
Reagarding the PLI scheme participation, he said: “The government has just announced it. We are working wih partners and we will share more about the timelines later. There are no targets as such for us but the government is obviously pushing for more manufacturing and we will work along with the expectations of the government.”