Government put restriction on import of colour televisions in order to promote “Make in India” products. This will help to encourage domestic production. The curbs are imposed on TV sets of size ranging from up to 36cm to 105cm. Liquid crystal display (LCD) television sets of screens below 63cm are also covered under the restrictions.
Import of TV’s in certain categories will now require a license from the government. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGTF) said in a notification, “Import policy of colour television sets…is amended from ‘free’ to ‘restricted’”. He also added that there will be a procedure for the grant of license which will be separately issued.
The total imports restricted under fiscal 2020 were $781 million. The imports per country were accounted as Vietnam- $428.37 million and China- $292.48 million. India has a free trade agreement (FTA) with Asean bloc that includes Vietnam. Electronic goods are suspected to be routed to India through the Southeast Asian country. At present out of 100% TV sets sold, 35% of the sales are of imported TV sets.
Sunil Vachani, chairman of homegrown contract manufacturer Dixon Technologies said that this move would further boost the MAKE IN INDIA initiative for TV sets and go a long way for self-reliance. He also said “India has the capability to manufacture television sets across all sizes and this will spur those investments.
Commenting on this move, Manish Sharma- the president and CEO of Panasonic India said “It will definitely have a positive impact on domestic assembling which happens here. Leading brands already have manufacturing and assembling units in the country. So, it is not going to impact us.” He also added that consumers will now receive high quality assembled TV sets now and this move will have a procedural impact.
NEWS REPORTED BY:
VRIDHI BHAGNARI.
