State-owned ITI Ltd develops laptop, micro personal computer called ‘SMAASH’
Sep 11, 2023
New Delhi [India], September 11 : State-owned company under the Ministry of Communication, ITI Limited, on Monday announced it has developed a laptop and micro PC that can match "international quality and performance".
The products are being branded as ‘SMAASH’. The products have already been deployed in the market, and the company has won many tenders competing against multi-national brands like Acer, HP, Dell and Lenovo, ITI informed stock exchanges in a filing.
“The two flagship products - Laptop and Micro PC have been designed in association with Intel Corporation with which an MoU has been signed for design and manufacturing,” the exchange filing read.
It said more than twelve thousand ‘SMAASH’ personal computers have been deployed and are successfully performing at various customer sites. SMAASH personal computer comes in variants like i3, i5, i7 and so on.
ITI Limited has recently won two tenders from KITE - Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education, and has supplied around 9,000 laptops to the government schools in Kerala, it added.
One of the solutions that ITI Limited offers is the SMAASH with solar solutions. They are highly compatible with solar solutions since they take DC (direct current) input.
“I am very elated to state that we have developed SMAASH, our branded laptop and Mini PC. Our talented Palakkad Team has put in all-out efforts to make this feat possible. SMAASH brand is being received well and is helping us win tenders in cut-throat markets,” Rajesh Rai, Chairman and Managing Director of ITI Limited.
“It is indeed a challenging task to win tenders competing with MNCs who have global reach and deep pockets. We have to continuously innovate not only with technology but also with our business model and SMAASH delivers every time,” Rai added.
The government had announced a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware. It was notified on May 29, 2023, with a budgetary outlay of Rs 17,000 crore. The scheme is aimed at broadening and deepening the IT hardware manufacturing ecosystem in the country.
In early August, India announced it would put a restriction on imports of laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, and ultra-small form factor computers and servers (IT devices) from November 1. Their imports would be then allowed against a valid licence.
The central government had maintained that the country has sufficient capacity for manufacturing IT hardware devices.
Also, the government maintained that it had already announced production-linked incentives for manufacturing IT hardware in India which will ultimately result in further lowering of the prices of such hardware.
