HP India in talks with Dixon Technologies, VVDN for laptop assembly

HP India is currently in talks with VVDN Technologies and Dixon Technologies to assemble its laptops in the country, according to people in the know. The India arm of the American laptop maker is one of the 27 companies eligible for the PLI scheme 2.0 for IT hardware, for which Rs 17,000 crore has been earmarked as incentives. While HP India already has its own assembly plant and a partnership with US-headquartered Flex for laptop assembly, the sources said it is seeking assembly-only deals with Sunil Vachani-led Dixon and VVDN, both of which are also eligible for production-linked incentives. Under this arrangement, HP India would provide all the components for manufacturing, a process also known as jobwork. When contacted, spokespersons for HP India, VVDN Technologies, and Dixon did not respond to queries regarding these negotiations.Both VVDN Technologies and Dixon Technologies are already collaborating with chipmaker Intel, which provides them with key technological insights to establish a robust laptop manufacturing industry in India. Other collaborators with Intel include Kaynes Technology, Syrma SGS, and Optimeius. VVDN has already partnered with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to assemble servers for the US company at its Manesar plant in Haryana. The factory is expected to produce high-end servers valued at $1 billion over the next five years.