Thomson, a French electronics company, plans to enter the Indian laptop market, with the company close to finalising a contract manufacturer in Noida to produce the devices locally, according to a senior executive.

"Thomson will make a significant impact in the laptop market." This decision was made to compete with laptop brands that have launched smart TVs. "We will target all segments, from entry level to ultra-premium," said Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO of Thomson's official brand licensee and manufacturing partner in India, Super Plastronics Private Limited (SPPL).

Thomson sees an opportunity with the government's imposition of laptop import restrictions beginning November 1. The company, which re-entered the Indian market in 2018 in collaboration with SPPL, primarily manufactures TVs in India, which it sells exclusively online through Flipkart, and it will follow a similar strategy for laptops as well. Thomson laptop computers are available in France and other European countries.

The move comes at a time when the government has imposed import restrictions on IT hardware in order to boost the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme and other Make in India initiatives, as well as address national security threats. So far, 44 companies have applied for the revised PLI scheme for IT hardware, for which the application deadline has been extended until August 31.