According to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), India’s electronics manufacturing sector has achieved the goal it set ten years ago and is now the world’s second-largest producer of mobile phones.
India produced 2.45 billion mobile phones valued INR 4.1 lakh crore, up from INR 18,900 crore in 2014–15, according to ICEA, which is the trade association for major smartphone brands like Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo.
According to the trade association, the industry has become 97% self-sufficient at this point, having been 78% import-dependent in 2014. As per Moneycontrol, a mere 3% of all mobile phones sold in India.
“It is anticipated that growth in the digital industry and trade will drive India’s GDP to double from its current $3.7 trillion to $7 trillion by 2030.” The production of mobile devices, which drives electronics manufacturing, will be essential in both of these sectors, according to ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo.
“Our next task is to make sure that we can move electronics GVCs to India in order to boost domestic value addition and generate large-scale manufacturing jobs. Thus, he continued, “this calls for factories that can run at a scale never seen in India before as well as factories capable of unparalleled competitiveness.”
Over the course of 2014–24, mobile phone exports totaled an estimated INR 3.2 lakh crore. Mobile phones are currently India’s fifth-largest export as a single commodity, driven by this growth in exports.
With an estimated INR 1.2 Lakh Cr in exports by the end of FY24, the industry anticipates a 7,500% increase in exports over the previous ten years.
This occurs at a time when the majority of international smartphone makers are focusing on the Indian market. Nothing, the most recent, is cofounder of OnePlus Carl Pei.
Because of the ongoing geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington DC, as well as the numerous incentives being offered by the Indian government, many of them are moving a portion of their production from China to India.
To entice these original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the Center has announced a production-linked scheme (PLI), and state and local governments have thrown open their arms and offered incentives like expedited land acquisition and approvals.
As a result, an increasing number of businesses are heading straight for India. A few weeks ago, Dixon Technologies and Karbonn Group, two Indian manufacturers, announced a collaboration with BBK Group, a Chinese phone manufacturer, to produce their Oppo, Vivo, and Realme smartphones.
Additionally, Google stated in late 2017 that it will produce Pixel smartphones domestically. India is currently responsible for almost 7% of all iPhones produced worldwide thanks to Apple’s fast expansion of its manufacturing there. In 2023, Apple spent INR 1 Lakh Cr manufacturing iPhones in India.