Make in India Momentum: India's Smartphone Exports to Record $30 Billion in 2025

SYNOPSIS

India has seen a massive turnaround in mobile manufacturing. We went from importing almost everything to becoming a top global seller, growing from two factories to over 300 in a decade. This article unpacks the $30 billion export goal for 2025. We look at how smart policies and big names like Apple are driving this boom and creating thousands of jobs.

India's smartphone exports set to soar to $30 billion by 2025, highlighting the "Make in India" initiative's growing momentum.

Ever wondered why smartphones are getting cheaper?

Look at what India just pulled off.

India is no longer just a buyer of phones - it’s becoming the factory behind the world’s smartphones.

If you rewind the clock just ten years, the story of the Indian mobile phone market was entirely one-sided. We were a nation of consumers, eagerly unboxing devices that had travelled thousands of miles to reach our hands. In 2014, if you flipped over a smartphone, the fine print almost certainly read "Made in China" or "Made in Vietnam."

Fast forward to 2026, and that script has been rewritten. We are no longer just buying; we are building. And more importantly, we are selling to the world. As we step deeper into 2026, the data paints a picture of a manufacturing revolution that few predicted would happen this fast. India is on track to record smartphone exports worth a staggering $30 billion this fiscal year. To put that in perspective, that is not just a statistical bump; it is a systematic shift in the global electronics supply chain.

The "Zero to Hero" Transition

To understand the magnitude of this $30 billion figure, we have to look at where we started. The text provided by industry reports highlights a contrast that feels almost fictional. A decade ago, India was home to just two mobile manufacturing units. Today, that number has swelled to around 300. That represents a 150-fold expansion in production capacity.

The most telling statistic, however, isn't just about what we are making, it’s about what we stopped buying. In 2014-15, India was dependent on imports for 75% of its domestic demand. We were bleeding foreign exchange to satisfy our hunger for technology. Today? That import dependence has evaporated to a negligible 0.02%. We have effectively achieved self-reliance in the handset market. But the "Make in India" momentum didn't stop at self-reliance; it moved outward.

The Export Explosion

The leap in export numbers is the headline of the year. We have gone from a modest ₹1,500 crore in exports a decade ago to touching nearly ₹2 lakh crore now. That is an increase of 127 times.Recent data from October supports this upward trajectory, with smartphone exports hitting a record $2.4 billion in that month alone. When you tally up the first seven months of the fiscal year, the figure had already crossed $16 billion. This consistent performance is what gives industry experts the confidence that the $30 billion mark is not just a target, but a certainty for 2026.

The Apple Factor and the PLI Push

So, what changed? Two words: Policy and Premiumisation.

The government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme acted as the anchor. By offering financial help to companies that manufacture at home, the government effectively reduced the initial setup costs for global players. It was a clear signal: Come make in India, and we will make it worth your while.

This attracted the biggest player in the field - Apple. The "Apple-isation" of India's manufacturing sector cannot be overstated. A significant chunk of that $30 billion export figure is driven by iPhones being assembled in factories in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, then shipped to the US and Europe. When the world’s most valuable company trusts India to build its flagship products, the rest of the ecosystem pays attention.

India: The World’s Second-Largest Mobile Manufacturer

Today, India has secured its spot as the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. But this achievement is about much more than just a ranking; it is a massive engine for our economy. Think about those 300 manufacturing units mentioned earlier. They aren’t just factories with machines; they are lively centres of employment. They are putting food on the table for thousands of families, creating roles that range from hands-on assembly work to managing complex supply chains.

The Road Ahead

Wrapping up this financial year, that $30 billion figure feels like much more than just a statistic on a spreadsheet. It serves as hard evidence that 'Make in India' has truly grown up. What started as a catchy slogan has effectively transformed into a tangible reality that is reshaping the global economy.

We have successfully transformed from a country that watched the technology revolution from the sidelines to one that is now powering it. The challenge for the next decade will be moving beyond assembly into component manufacturing making the screens, the chips, and the batteries here, too.

But for now, 2025 belongs to the Indian smartphone exporter. The world is calling, and finally, India is the one answering the line.

Anubhav Awasthi