India Becomes Global 'Smartphone Factory' as Exports Hit Record USD 30bn

India is rapidly solidifying its position as the "smartphone manufacturing factory for the world," with exports for the 2025 calendar year reaching a milestone of USD 30 billion. 

Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared the data on Friday, noting that the country’s electronics sector has seen an 11-fold growth in exports since 2014-15. 

This surge has catapulted electronics to become India’s third-largest export item, a transformation the Minister highlighted by stating, "India is becoming the smartphone manufacturing factory for the world."

The Minister further revealed that total electronics exports achieved a record-breaking USD 47 billion in 2025. This industrial expansion has had a significant socio-economic impact, providing 25 lakh new jobs and fostering strong participation from women and MSMEs. 

Over the last 11 yeaINR, electronics production in India has ramped up six-fold, while exports have increased eight-fold. Specifically, electronic goods production rose from INR 1.9 lakh crore in 2014-15 to an impressive INR 11.3 lakh crore in 2024-25, with exports jumping from INR 0.38 lakh crore to INR 3.3 lakh crore in the same period.

A key driver of this growth has been the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing, which attracted over INR 13,475 crore in investment and yielded a production value of INR 9.8 lakh crore. 

India is now officially the second-largest mobile manufacturing country globally. The number of mobile manufacturing units has surged from just two in 2014-15 to approximately 300 today. Remarkably, 99.2 per cent of mobile handsets sold within the domestic market are now "Made in India."

Reflecting the success of the "Make in India" initiative, mobile phone production alone rose from INR 0.18 lakh crore to INR 5.5 lakh crore. Its export trajectory is even more striking, growing from a negligible INR 0.01 lakh crore to INR 2 lakh crore. 

Having successfully focused on finished products, the government is now pivoting toward building local capacity for components, raw materials, and machinery through the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme to ensure a fully integrated global supply chain.

Source: ANI