Over 74% of the mobile phones sold in India, the good news is, are Made in India, up from 70% in 2016 and a mere 19% in 2014, data from Counterpoint suggest. Yet the biggest beneficiaries of this are not Indian firms, but those overseas, in particular, those in China.
Imports of mobile phones — like the Google Pixel 2 or the iPhone X — are down dramatically, from 205 million in 2014 to 83 million in 2016 and 77 million in 2017; for 2018, this is expected to fall even more, to 31 million. India’s import bill, however, shot up from $8.8 billion in 2014 to $11 billion in 2016 and further to $12.6 billion in 2017; for 2018, this is expected to further rise to $13.3 billion.
Of the total import bill, that made up by finished phones fell from $7.4 billion in 2014 to $4.2 billion in 2016 and $3.4 billion in 2017 — for 2018, it is likely to fall further, to under $2 billion.
Imports of components, however, rose dramatically with very little value addition in India. According to Counterpoint, the value of component imports rose from $1.4 billion in 2014 to $6.8 billion in 2016 and $9.2 billion in 2017; for 2018, the imports of components will be around $11.4 billion.
Domestic value addition, on the other hand, remained minuscule, and rose from just 3.6% by value in 2014 to 5.6% in 2016 and a little over 10% in 2017; in 2018, the value addition is also likely to remain limited, at around 18%.