Question : PREFERENCE TO DOMESTIC COMPANIES

(a) whether the Government has issued a notification regarding giving preference to domestically manufactured laptops, tablets and personal computers in the procurements made by the Government departments;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;

(c) whether the lobbyists and industrialists from other countries including United States of America have opposed the preferential access on the grounds that it is against the concept of free market access for these products under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime; and

(d) if so, the details thereof along with the Government`s position in this regard?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (DR. D. PURANDESWARI)

(a) & (b) : Yes, Madam. In terms of the policy for providing preference to domestically manufactured electronic products in procurement due to security considerations and in Government procurement, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) has issued two notifications. Notification No. 8(41)/2012-IPHW dated 17.12.2012 provides preference to domestically manufactured Desktop PCs and Dot Matrix Printers and Notification No. 8(41)/2012-IPHW dated 22.1.2013 gives preference to domestically manufactured Laptop PCs and Tablet PCs as per the said policy. The Policy is applicable for Government procurement and will be applicable to all Ministries/Departments (except Defence) and their agencies for electronic products purchased for Government purposes and not with a view to commercial resale or with a view to use in the production of goods for commercial sale.

(c) & (d) : Some industry bodies from some countries, including the United States of America have opposed the preferential access on the grounds that it is against the concept of the market access for these products under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime. The Policy is in conformance with India’s WTO commitments. The procurement by Governmental agencies is exempted from the provisions of GATT (Article III). Besides, India is not a signatory to Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) of the WTO and, therefore, is not constrained by the stipulations of the GPA. The Policy also does not differentiate between Indian companies and foreign companies and the benefit of the scheme is available to all companies manufacturing electronic products in India without discrimination.