Apple, Samsung help India drive mobile phones exports to Rs 1.2 trillion

Mobile phone

India's mobile phone exports are set to exceed Rs 1.2 trillion by the end of this fiscal year, marking a significant achievement driven by the government's encouragement for phone manufacturers like Apple and Samsung to produce locally.

In 2014-15, mobile phone exports from India were a mere Rs 1,556 crore, according to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA).

According to analysts, most of the mobile phone exports by value are for Apple and Samsung devices.

ICEA said that India's electronics industry has successfully met its target set a decade ago and has emerged as the world's second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones,

The handset body said that during these ten years, India produced 2.45 billion units of mobile phones worth Rs 4.1 lakh crore, compared to Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15.

ICEA, which represents Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Lava, among others, said that the sector has transitioned from being 78 percent import-dependent in 2014 to 97 percent self-sufficiency currently. Only 3 percent of the total mobile phones sold in India.

The industry had set a target of Rs 20 lakh crore over these ten years and finished the decade at Rs 19.45 lakh core cumulative production.

Cumulative exports of mobile phones during the period 2014-24 reached a total estimate of Rs 3.22 lakh crore. Driven by this export growth, mobile phones have become India’s fifth largest export as an individual commodity, ICEA said.

“It is believed that the doubling of India’s GDP from the current $3.7 trillion to $7 trillion by 2030 will be led by growth in the digital sector and trade. In both these areas, electronics manufacturing led by mobile production will play a critical role”, said Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, of ICEA.

“As a next step, we have to ensure that we can shift electronics GVCs to India to create large-scale manufacturing jobs and increase domestic value addition. This, in turn, requires unprecedented competitiveness and factories that can operate at the scale of the kind that has never been witnessed in India”, he added.