India’s mobile phone exports doubled year-on-year to Rs 90,000 crore in FY23, surpassing the estimated Rs 75,000 crore, the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) said on Wednesday.
FE was the first to report on March 17 that exports will cross the targeted Rs 75,000 crore mark, with Apple all set to export iPhones in excess of Rs 37,000 crore.
“With the doubling of exports of smartphones to more than $11 billion, India is well on its way to become a leader in the mobile device market of the world and play a major role in electronics exports. This is a major win for PM Narendra Modi’s Make in India programme,” said Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on the record smartphone exports from India.
A robust growth in the mobile phone exports was led by strong performance of Apple and Samsung, which got a boost from the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile phones.
With strong growth during the year, mobile phone exports now account for 46% of the overall electronic goods exports, thereby playing a prominent role in India’s electronics export market, ICEA said. The total exports of electronic goods in FY23 increased 58% YoY to estimated Rs 1.85 trillion from Rs 1.17 trillion in FY22.
“No economy or sector in the economy can become a great and vibrant global economy without large exports. The mobile phone export juggernaut continues,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman, ICEA. “The outstanding performance of the PLI for mobile phones serves as an inspiration for other electronic segments to emulate this success in increasing manufacturing and exports,” Mohindroo added.
For Apple, FY23 was the best in terms of growth in exports from India and contribution to the Made in India smartphone shipments. According to industry estimates, the company has surpassed exports worth Rs 40,000 crore in FY23, which was a fourfold growth from the last year. In March, Apple made record exports of iPhones from India at $1.14 billion (over Rs 8,200 crore), surpassing its earlier record export in December 2022.
According to the ICEA, the exports in FY23 was led by Apple and the top exporting destinations for mobile phones include the UAE, the US, Netherlands, the UK and Italy.
“By fostering a collaborative environment between the industry and the government, we can create new opportunities for growth and innovation, ultimately fulfilling the ambitious vision of $300 billion for the electronics sector by 2025-26,” Mohindroo said.
The government has committed over Rs 2 trillion across 14 PLI schemes — the largest of which is the Smartphone PLI with an initial outlay of Rs 40,951 crore.
Under the scheme, the government expects a total incremental production of Rs 10.05 trillion, exports of Rs 6.5 trillion, and direct and indirect jobs of up to 800,000 by 2026.
The government has set a target of $300 billion worth of electronics manufacturing by 2025-26, with $120 billion expected to come from exports. Mobile phones alone are anticipated to contribute more than $50 billion worth of exports by 2025-26.