India's mobile phone manufacturing up by over 1,700% to Rs 3.5 lakh crore

The government has announced that mobile phone manufacturing has experienced a remarkable surge, wheezing past an estimated Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 3, 50,000 crore in 2022-23. This surge represents an increase in production by more than 1,700 per cent.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, while addressing inquiring in Lok Sabha, highlighted India's transformation from being insignificant in the global electronics supply chain to emerging as a significant and trusted player in the electronics global value chain (GVC).

Chandrasekhar stated, “To transform our domestic manufacturing from import substitution to export-led manufacturing, the government has reduced the basic customs duty (BCD) to 10 per cent (from 15 per cent) on the goods covered under mechanics, die-cut parts and others category for use in the manufacturing of mobile phones.”

Moreover, he highlighted that mobile phone exports have also witnessed a substantial increase from an estimated Rs 1,566 crore in 2014-15 to an estimated Rs 90,000 crore in 2022-23, marking an impressive growth in exports by more than 5,600 per cent.

The government has set an ambitious target of achieving domestic electronic manufacturing worth USD 300 billion by 2026. Its strategy revolves around broadening and deepening electronics manufacturing in India. This includes efforts to attract global electronics manufacturers/brands, develop component ecosystems, foster a design ecosystem, nurture Indian champions, and gradually remove cost-related challenges faced by the industry.

The minister explained, “This is proposed to be achieved by building competitiveness and scale by attracting global electronics manufacturers/brands, shifting, and developing sub-assemblies and component ecosystems, building a design ecosystem, nurturing Indian champions, and steadily removing cost disabilities faced by the industry.”

Following the success of the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile phones, the government anticipates that the PLI for IT hardware and servers will further boost investments in the component ecosystem, thereby enhancing the supply chain within the country.