‘Make in India’ momentum: Apple-led push takes India’s smartphone exports to record $30 billion in 2025

India’s smartphone exports likely touched a record $30 billion in 2025, driven largely by the government’s production‑linked incentive (PLI) scheme, according to industry estimates.

The export figure in 2025 represents about 38 per cent of the country’s smartphone exports over the past five years, showed the data.

The data further showed that India’s smartphone shipments abroad totalled nearly $79.03 billion from 2021 to 2025, with 2025 delivering the highest 12‑month export tally on record. Apple’s iPhone consignments accounted for roughly 75 per cent of the total during this period, valued at over $22 billion.

The 2025 exports of over $30 billion marked a 47 per cent increase over the $20.45 billion recorded in the prior 12‑month period. India’s total electronics exports have crossed Rs 4 trillion in 2025, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, and are expected to expand further due to the semiconductor manufacturing push.

“Electronics exports crossed Rs 4 trillion in 2025, creating jobs and bringing foreign exchange. Momentum will continue in 2026 as four semiconductor plants come into commercial production,” Vaishnaw said in a social media post this week.

Official estimates showed that electronic production reached around Rs 11.3 lakh crore in the 2024–25 period.

For the first time since domestic production began in 2021, US tech giant Apple’s iPhone exports from India crossed Rs 2 lakh crore in 2025, as per industry data.

Exports of the tech company in 2025 surged nearly 85 per cent over 2024 exports. Apple’s manufacturing footprint in the country includes five iPhone assembly plants—three operated by Tata Group entities and two by Foxconn.

India became the world’s second-largest mobile phone producer, with over 99 per cent of phones sold domestically now Made in India moves up the manufacturing value chain.

The smartphone PLI scheme is scheduled to conclude in March 2026, though the government is reportedly exploring ways to extend support. Under revised rules, companies were allowed to claim incentives for any five consecutive years within a six‑year period.

(With inputs from IANS)