During the period of April to November 2022, smartphone shipments from India exceeded the Rs 50,000-crore threshold, increasing 110% from the same time previous year, at a time when exports in several industries are either declining or, at best, maintaining flat. Additionally, this is 10% more than the Rs 45,000 crore registered for the entire FY22. Apple contract manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron, all of which are based in Tamil Nadu, as well as Samsung are the key drivers of this enormous expansion.
Nearly 40% of the cellphones worth Rs 50,000 crore that are exported from India are iPhones, which Apple sends to nations in Europe, West Asia, and Asia, excluding China. The remaining 40% was provided by Samsung and a variety of small exporters, the most of which are Indian device manufacturers. The government’s smartphone PLI programme, which includes Samsung and Apple’s suppliers, was unveiled in April 2020.
Up until recently, Samsung, which has been making phones in India for more than a decade, was by far the industry leader in terms of exports and manufacture of smartphones. However, Apple surpassed Samsung in November to record shipments over Rs 4,300 crore, the highest figure since the firm joined the PLI system in August 2021 with two of its three vendors.
Industry commentators claimed that it took around a year for the PLI scheme’s effects to become apparent. Between April through August of this year, exports varied between $440 and $700 million each month, but since September, they have been averaging close to $1 billion. Electronics are now India’s top contributor to exports, and smartphones are contributing to this growth. Up until 2018, electronics was listed as India’s tenth-largest export industry; today, it is ranked sixth. At the conclusion of FY23, electronics may very well rank among India’s top five export product categories.
“We have surpassed expectations in mobile exports thanks to the smartphone PLI plan. India’s competitiveness, particularly with regard to tariffs, becomes crucial as we go from import substitution to exports, especially at this size. In order to strengthen the local ecosystem, we also want a robust component PLI programme, according to Pankaj Mohindroo, head of the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA).
The government’s flagship smartphone PLI plan is viewed as having achieved great success thanks to the increase in mobile phone exports. In the midst of the epidemic, the strategy drove a change in Apple’s supply chain, one of the biggest and most intricate in the world. According to specialists in the field, the emphasis will now shift to quickly boosting value addition through development of the ecosystem for component parts by integrating Indian businesses into the global supply chain.
Since April 2020, the government has introduced 14 PLI programmes. Most of these went into effect in 2021, while others did so in 2022. The government introduced three programmes in the telecom sector: the production of large-scale electronics (mainly cellphones), telecom and networking devices, and IT hardware. The smartphone PLI plan has been the most effective of the three. In actuality, it is both the biggest and the most prosperous of the 14 PLI schemes at the moment.
With investments totaling Rs. 2.54 trillion, the 14 PLI schemes would get an incentive of Rs. 2.4 trillion. Over the following five to six years, an additional output of Rs 28.15 trillion is anticipated.
In FY23, India plans to export mobile phones worth $9 billion.
India will export mobile phones worth $9 billion in the current fiscal year due to increased manufacturing and shipping (FY23). According to a study, this will be a huge increase from $5.8 billion in FY22. India will produce $300 billion worth of electronics overall by FY26, predicts industry trade group India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA). The entire manufacture of electronics will increase to $100 billion from $87 billion in FY22.
Exports of phones alone have surpassed the $5 billion threshold, more than double the $2.2 billion from the previous year. Samsung and Apple have been the primary driving forces behind the growth of the phone industry. The majority of the phones made in India are these two. “We met with the sector early in 2021 and developed this $300 billion strategy. One of the main goals was to increase exports dramatically from the present $18–$20 billion to $120 billion by FY26. Exports of mobile phones are anticipated to hit $9 billion this fiscal year “Minister of State for Electronics and Telecommunications Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
He claimed that for India to become a manufacturing powerhouse, all states must take part. Currently, he added, “nearly every state is fighting to attract investors since 66% of foreign direct investment (FDI) in electronics has arrived in the previous three years. The Rs 41,000 crore Production-linked Incentive (PLI) plan for smartphone manufacture was introduced by the government in 2020. Foxconn and Pegatron, two businesses that produce iPhones, are located in Tamil Nadu. Wistron, another manufacturer of iPhones, is based in Karnataka. Samsung’s headquarters are in Uttar Pradesh.
