HP to make Chromebooks in India in win for Modi’s tech push

Alphabet Inc.’s Google will begin to make its Chromebook laptops in India through a partnership forged with HP Inc.

The move makes Mountain View, California-based Google the latest among global technology companies to expand assembly in the key growth market. Alphabet Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai announced the partnership Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The move will help Google compete more effectively with Windows computers from companies such as Dell Technologies Inc. and Asustek Computer Inc. It’s also another win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s $2 billion incentive plan to have tech giants make India their production base.

The country of 1.4 billion people has been expanding its electronics manufacturing sector as companies diversify production beyond China amid growing Washington-Beijing tensions.

Local manufacturing will also help HP avoid any potential curbs on Chromebook imports. Chromebooks are typically priced at the lower end of the market and have thin profit margins, making them sensitive to any tariff measures.

New Delhi is loosening its planned restrictions on imports of laptops, tablets and other IT hardware, giving manufacturers more time to prepare for potential curbs, Bloomberg reported previously.

The Chromebooks will be built at a Flex Ltd. facility near Chennai, in southern India, where HP has been making laptops and desktops since 2020. Production of the Chromebooks is set to start on Oct. 2 and they are targeted mainly at the education sector, HP said in a statement.

India’s personal computer market fell 15% in the quarter through June, according to IDC. HP took the pole position with a market share of 31%, followed by Lenovo Group Ltd. and Dell.