Monthly mobile phone exports hit record US$ 1 billion in September

In September, India's monthly exports of mobile phones crossed the US$ 1 billion threshold the first time ever. They received a boost from the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) programme, which encouraged major corporations like Apple and Samsung to improve domestic manufacturing for both domestic and international markets.

Data available to ET shows that from April-September, mobile phone shipments more than doubled to US$ 4.2 billion from US$ 1.7 billion during the same time period in 2021. Prior to this, December 2021 had the biggest monthly export of smartphones, with handsets worth US$ 770 million leaving the country. From June-August of this year, exports were roughly US$ 700 million per month.

Industry insiders claim that Samsung and Foxconn, the three largest international participants in the Rs. 40,995 crore (US$ 4.98 billion) PLI programme unveiled in April 2020, have been the main drivers of export growth.

In 2016–17, only over 1% of mobile phone production was exported, but that percentage rose to almost 16% in 2021–22, per ICEA data. This will increase to almost 22% of production in 2022–2023, the group predicts.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.