Smartphones have become India’s top export category, with overseas shipments worth $30 billion in calendar year 2025, Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday, PTI reported. Major companies like Apple and Samsung are the key drivers of this growth.
The minister shared the update in a post on social media, calling it a milestone in India’s push to become a global manufacturing hub. “Becoming the smartphone manufacturing factory for the world,” Vaishnaw said. According to details shared in the post, exports of smartphones stood at $30 billion during January–December 2025.
Production and export growth
Mobile phones worth Rs 5.5 lakh crore (about $60 billion) were produced in the country during the year, while exports from the segment were worth around Rs 2 lakh crore (about $22 billion) in 2024-25, as per the PTI report.
Overall, electronics exports from India have crossed Rs 4 lakh crore (around $44 billion) in 2025, and are expected to rise further as four semiconductor plants are set to begin production this year.
Apple drives premium push
Neil Shah, co-founder and vice-president for research at market research firm Counterpoint, told PTI that Apple has emerged as a key driver of India’s export momentum, particularly after expanding manufacturing in the country following US tariffs on China.
“India will be touching almost 30 crore units of mobile phone production, and one in four smartphones produced in India are estimated to have been exported in 2025,” Shah told PTI.
He added that high average selling price (ASP) models, particularly in the US market, have helped boost export value. “High ASP or premium USA market is one of the largest export destinations driven by Apple, Samsung, and Motorola, also boosting the export value reaching the highest ever,” Shah told PTI.
Data from the International Data Corporation’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker for the September quarter of 2025 showed Apple clocked its highest-ever quarterly domestic sales of 50 lakh iPhones, as per PTI. Apple led both the premium segment (Rs 53,000–Rs 71,000) and the super-premium segment (above Rs 71,000), helping drive growth in India’s smartphone market during the quarter.