Industry data released on Wednesday showed that India is on track to reach a remarkable $10 billion (over 82,000 crore) worth of smartphone exports in the fiscal year that will conclude on March 31. This impressive milestone is likely to be reached as a result of attractive government incentives toward local manufacturing.
Apple’s ‘Make in India’ smartphones are now responsible for fifty percent of the company’s total shipments, as reported by the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA).
In terms of mobile exports, Samsung comes in second with a share of 40 percent, while other smartphone companies account for 10 percent of the market.
As a result of production-linked incentive (PLI) programs, the quantity of smartphones exported from India has increased by a factor of two in comparison to the same time period in the previous financial year.
According to the data provided by ICEA, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United States of America (USA), the Netherlands (NL), and the United Kingdom (UK) are the top five global destinations where India presently exports mobile phones.
“The only way to judge the efficacy and maturity of a business is by looking at how well it exports. According to Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of ICEA, who was speaking to IANS, “Mobile phones policy and outreach initiatives have been relentless, and the results are in front of us.”
“The mobile phone industry will cross the $40 billion manufacturing output mark, and 25% exports at $10 billion is a stellar performance,” he added. “The mobile phone industry will also surpass the tablet computer industry.”
There have been rumors circulating since the beginning of this year that Apple, headed by Tim Cook, will rapidly move some of its manufacturing operations from China to India and Vietnam within the next two to three years.
It is anticipated that India will produce between 45 and 50 percent of Apple’s iPhones by the year 2027, putting it on level with China, which produced between 80 and 85 percent of iPhones in 2022.
India and Vietnam are expected to become the most significant beneficiaries of the migration of smartphone supply chains away from China, according to projections provided by research analysts working for DigiTimes.
By the end of the year 2022, India was responsible for 10–15 percent of the total manufacturing capacity of iPhones.
During the month of December, Apple was the first smartphone manufacturer in India to have transported iPhones with a total value of one billion dollars. It is presently producing iPhones 12, 13, 14, and 14 Plus in the country where it is headquartered.
Mohindroo asserts that the nation is currently moving in a new direction, “which is largely export-focused and led by the government’s performance-linked scheme (PLI) push.”
Additionally, the government is working to expand the electronic manufacturing ecosystem beyond mobile phones in order to increase the country’s market position in global markets for hearables and wearables, information technology hardware, and electronic components, among other things.