Based on a government estimation of selected major commodities, the export of electronics from India has now become the 6th largest export segment, surpassing the basket of readymade garments. Indian textiles have been exported overseas for many years, making a significant contribution to the GDP. During the colonial period, textile mills even served as tailors to the world. Nonetheless, it appears that the focus of New India’s next major export sector has moved towards electronics. In October of last year, during the India Mobile Congress 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated, “New India will not remain a mere consumer of technology, but India will play an active role in the development and implementation of that technology.”
“From exporting zero mobile phones in 2014, today we have become a mobile phone exporting country worth thousands of crores,” PM Modi pointed out.
Based on official data released on Friday, India’s exports of electronic goods increased from USD 15.66 billion to USD 23.57 billion during 2022-23, while the export value of readymade garments remained relatively stable at around USD 16 billion.
Officials report that India has nearly 1.2 billion mobile connections, a significant portion of which are smartphones. The demand for smartphones began to increase in the first decade of the new millennium, and it skyrocketed in 2016 when the per-gigabyte data price dropped to as low as Rs 10, making India a global leader in affordable internet access and penetration.
In May 2017, the Indian government launched the Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) to encourage the domestic production of mobile handsets. This initiative helped establish a robust indigenous mobile manufacturing ecosystem in India and provided incentives for large-scale production, motivating companies to shift from imports to manufacturing.
As per the new official release, “Today the telecom and allied industries are amongst the top employment generators in India. From just 2 mobile phone factories in 2014, India now has become the world’s second-largest mobile phone producer”. Moreover, central government are thinking to increase electronics manufacturing capacity to Rs 24 lakh crore by 2025-26.
There was a significant drop in mobile phone imports during the first quarter of 2021-22, with imports amounting to only Rs 600 crores compared to Rs 3,100 crores during the same period in 2020-21.
The import of mobile phones has decreased from USD 3.5 billion in 2017-18 to USD 0.5 billion in the period of April 2021 to September 2021.
To enhance exports, integrate India into the global supply chain, reduce dependence on imports, and make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, the government implemented several measures, including launching a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in various sectors, including electronic goods.
