Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, and Railways, announced India’s global standing as the second-largest mobile phone producer. An impressive 99.2% of mobile phones in the country are now “made in India,” surpassing 2 billion units shipped between 2014 and 2022. Mobile phones constitute a significant 43% of all electronics produced in the fiscal year 2021-22, contributing to India’s decline in mobile phone imports by nearly 60% from 2017-18 to 2021-22. Consequently, India has transitioned into a net exporter in the global mobile phone industry.
Despite this success, electronic component imports have surged, crossing US$ 25 billion in FY 22-23. Semiconductor chip imports, crucial for cell phones, reached a five-year high of US$ 16 billion in FY23, with 80% sourced from five nations. China, accounting for one-third, Hong Kong (22%), and South Korea (14%) are leading contributors.
The production-linked incentive plan for large-scale electronics manufacturing has attracted approximately Rs. 6,800 crore (US$ 744.04 million) in total investment, creating around 62,000 direct jobs as of June 2023. Industry efforts align with production and export targets for FY23-24 under the production-linked incentive programme, as indicated by parliamentary data.
