Smartphone exports might have exceeded US$ 10 billion in FY23

Indian smartphone exports likely exceeded US$ 10 billion (over INR 82,000 crore) in FY23, according to industry data. 

According to a report from Asia Lite, Apple’s ‘Make in India’ smartphones now make up 50% of total exports, with Samsung following with 40% of mobile exports, and other smartphone companies comprising the remaining 10% of export share.

India’s electronics manufacturing sector is thriving and gaining global recognition. The government is particularly focused on smartphone manufacturing, prioritizing the telecommunications industry with. Global manufacturing giants are increasingly choosing India as a base, with Samsung recently opening the world’s largest phone manufacturing unit in the country. Other major global players such as Apple, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Lava have also expanded their operations in India, according to the Asian Lite report. 

Thanks to Production-linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, smartphone exports from India have doubled from the corresponding period in the previous fiscal year.  On top of that, the PLI scheme led Indian mobile phone exports to reach a value of INR 27,000 crores in 2019-20.

According to data from India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), the top five global destinations for mobile phone exports from India are the UAE, the US, the Netherlands, the UK, and Italy. India now has more than 260 units manufacturing mobile phones and accessories, compared to only two in 2014, showcasing India’s tremendous growth in the mobile manufacturing sector. Experts mentioned that the mobile phone industry is expected to cross US$ 40 billion in terms of manufacturing output.

In the recent Budget, it was revealed that mobile phone production in the country had increased from 5.8 crore units valued at about INR 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to 31 crore units valued at over INR 2.75 trillion in the last financial year.

To further reduce input costs, deepen value addition, promote export competitiveness, and boost domestic manufacturing, the custom duty of 2.5% on importing certain parts and inputs like camera lenses was waived off in this Budget. Due to the PLI scheme, mobile phone manufacturing saw a 66% rise to INR 45,000 crores within the first year of the scheme’s roll-out in April 2020, according to data from the IT Ministry.

On top of that,  \IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar mentioned that India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing mobile phone manufacturers globally and the second-largest manufacturer of mobile handsets globally in volume terms, thanks to the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme.

Source: Economic Times