Key facts
- India launched a $6.5 billion, five-year Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme.
- An additional $13.3 billion was committed to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
- The smartphone scheme rewards eligible sales and local component sourcing.
- Apple currently has approximately 25% of its iPhones manufactured in India.
- China produced 63% of global smartphones in 2025, compared to India's 18%.
India has launched a significant push to bolster its electronics manufacturing capabilities, unveiling a new $6.5 billion incentive program for smartphone production and an expanded $13.3 billion commitment to domestic semiconductor manufacturing. This initiative aims to leverage the country's growing success in assembling Apple's iPhones and attract a larger share of the global electronics supply chain, currently dominated by China.
The Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme, set to run for five years, will reward smartphone manufacturers based on eligible sales, with additional incentives for sourcing key components and sub-assemblies within India. This program builds upon India's emergence as a key smartphone manufacturing hub over the past decade, attracting major players like Apple, Samsung, and Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo. Apple, for instance, now has about 25% of its iPhones produced in India through suppliers like Foxconn and Tata Group.
Beyond assembly, the new policy signals a strategic shift towards fostering deeper manufacturing capabilities, research and development, and local value capture, moving beyond the previous "assemble more" approach. This is crucial as India has excelled in final assembly but remains reliant on imported components. The government also plans to encourage homegrown mobile-phone brands, offering incentives for product design and research.
Despite progress, India faces a substantial challenge in displacing China's dominance in smartphone manufacturing. In 2025, China is projected to account for 63% of global smartphone production, compared to India's 18%. The new policies are designed to help build the necessary supplier networks, engineering expertise, and manufacturing know-how to deepen India's role in global supply chains. The government expects the smartphone program to generate approximately $405 billion in production and create about 60,000 direct jobs by March 2031.