The growth of Mobile Phone production in India over a decade is being described as an unmatched success story in the manufacturing sector. While 78% of all the mobile phones sold in the country in 2014 were imported, today 97% of the mobiles phones are manufactured in India.
According to industry body, India Cellular & Electronics Associarion, ICEA, mobile phone production, in value terms has surged from Rs 18,900 crores in 2014-15 to an estimated Rs 4.10 lakh crores in FY24, registering over 20 fold increase.
Cumulatively, more than 245 crore mobile phone sets have been produced in India during the last 10 years.
In 2014-15, mobile phone exports from India were a mere Rs.1,556 crores. The industry expects to end FY24 with an estimated export of Rs.1,20,000 crores. Driven by this export growth, mobile phones have now become India’s 5th largest export as an individual commodity.
This exponential growth in production, exports and self-sufficiency stems from a conducive policy environment, and a close working relationship between industry and key Government Ministries such as Ministry of Electronics & IT, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, NITI Aayog and the PMO.
In May 2017, the Indian government announced the Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) to promote the domestic production of mobile handsets. This initiative helped in building a robust indigenous mobile manufacturing ecosystem in India and incentivized large-scale manufacturing. From just 2 mobile phone factories in 2014, India now has become the second largest mobile phone producer in the world.
The Production Linked Incentive scheme for Large-Scale Electronics Manufacturing (LSEM) and for IT hardware is advancing towards making India a competitive destination for electronics manufacturing. The PLI scheme offers incentive ranging from 3% to 5% of the incremental sales value for a stipulated period to eligible players.
The PLI scheme has attracted leading global contract manufacturers, including Foxconn, Pegatron, Rising Star and Wistron to set up production base in India. Samsung on the other hand, operates the world’s largest mobile phone factory in Noida.
In the field of smartphones, Apple and Samsung, have played a crucial role in boosting mobile phone exports from the country. India manufactured devices are being exported in large volume to the UK, Netherlands, Austria, and Italy besides Middle East and North Africa and South American markets.
With a large domestic market and a growing export market, the outlook for mobile phone and electronics manufacturing in India remains upbeat.