India has seen a record smartphone exports in November this year, surpassing the INR 20,000 crore mark for the first time in a month, which was led by Apple.
According to industry data, smartphone exports crossed INR 20,300 crore, a more than 90 per cent rise from the same period last year. Apple led the exports last month, followed by Samsung.
In November last year, the smartphone exports from the country was over INR 10,600 crore, as per the industry data.
The smartphone market in the country is expected to exit 2024 with a single-digit annual growth.
Meanwhile, riding on the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, Apple’s iPhone production in the country reached USD 10 billion in the seven months of this fiscal (FY25), with $7 billion in exports alone which is a record.
The tech giant manufactured/assembled USD 14 billion of iPhones in India last fiscal (FY24) , with exporting more than $10 billion worth of iPhones.
According to Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, this is yet another milestone for the smartphone PLI scheme in 7 months.
“USD 10 billion iPhone production by Apple with USD 7 billion exports. Total smartphone exports from Bharat crossed USD 10.6 billion in 7 months,” the minister had posted on X last month.
India’s smartphone market is estimated to grow 7-8 per cent this year, driven by strong demand for premium, 5G and AI smartphones. The mobile handset market in India is expected to maintain steady growth.
According to industry experts, to achieve the goal of USD 500 billion local electronics manufacturing by FY30, the industry must prioritise export growth to emerge as one of the top three global exporters in this domain by 2030, led by mobile manufacturing.
As per the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) data, mobile phone production surged from INR 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to an estimated INR 4.10 lakh crore in FY24, registering an increase of a massive 2,000 per cent, driven by the PLI scheme.