For the first time ever, India’s monthly exports of mobile phones surpassed the $1 billion threshold in September 2022 with y-o-y growth of more than 200%.
Mobile phone exports:
April 2022 – September 2022 : $ 4.2 billion
April 2021 – September 2021 : $ 1.7 billion
Meaning, as compared to same period last year, exports of mobile phones had seen growth of around 2.5x !!!
The primary reason cited for this superb growth is the Government’s PLI scheme, which witnessed participation from major mobile phone manufacturers -for Apple phones like Foxconn, Wistron, Pegatron along with Samsung.
As per prospective data from ICEA for FY 22-23, India is poised to export a whopping 22% of its mobile phone production which was merely 1% in FY 16-17.
That’s an huge 22 times jump in 6 years !!!
With major manufacturing entities now actively seeking destinations other China, it may come as a major boost for India’s growth story which seeks to hit mobile phone exports of $ 60 billion by FY 25-26.
Mobile phones, which are supported by the scheme, have also become the single largest contributor to electronics exports.
With Apple and Samsung putting foot on the accelerator for exports, India-made devices are now being shipped to countries such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria, and Italy. Previously, India-made handsets were primarily exported to the Middle East, Africa, and South Africa.
During the five-year period, the government expects incremental production of Rs 10.5 lakh crore, exports of Rs 6.5 lakh crore, and 800,000 direct and indirect new jobs under the PLI scheme.
According to the ICEA, mobile phones could account for 45-50% of all electronics exports in the coming years.