India's Non-Approval For Chinese Wi-Fi Modules Delaying Launches; Emphasis On Make In India Products?

The Chinese electronics manufacturers hold a major chunk of the Indian market. The major sellers of smartphones and other consumer electronics items are brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo. However, there has been a delay in product launches manufactured by these Chinese firms. The reason isn't the lockdown situation due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's rather the Indian government's approval on imported Chinese products with Wi-Fi modules.

Why Are China-Manufactured Product Launches Delayed In India?

A report via Reuters suggests that the Communication Ministry's Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) department has not given approvals for the import of Chinese Wi-Fi modules. The report further hints that the approvals have been withheld since last November.

Without the government's nod, the imported goods from China such as smartphones, laptops, Bluetooth speakers and earphones, smartwatches won't be able to make it to the Indian market.

Why Is The Government Not Approving Chinese Goods?

It's not just the Chinese firms that have not received the approvals. The permissions have been withheld for manufacturers from the US and South Korea as well by WPC. As many as 80 pending applications are in line, suggests the report. This has impacted the business for brands like Dell and HP besides, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo.

As of now, no official clarification on the same has been given by WPC. In fact, the affected brands are also yet to comment on this matter. While the primary reason for no approval remains unknown, it is being speculated that this move is to push the Indian firms to manufacture these goods in the country itself.

The Indian government has been emphasizing 'Make In India' products for a long now. The in-house production of consumer electronics and other goods have been considered to be a boon for the Indian economy. The government has been cutting on Chinese products one way or the other in recent times.

Earlier, the government had banned multiple apps for smartphones due to China links. The reason at that point was security. Huawei, the popular Chinese tech giant has also been excluded from the list of brands eligible for 5G network trials in India.

This time it's the economic growth that the government is eyeing at. However, setting up several manufacturing units at a time to meet the demands could be a task and it needs loads of investments.

Therefore, it might take a while for India to be self-sufficient with the manufacturing of home-grown consumer electronics good. We don't know if the government will come up with some strategy soon or will go ahead with the approvals.