India has surpassed China in the export of smartphones to the United States, according to a report by Canalys. The ‘Make in India’ initiative and the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme have played a crucial role in boosting the electronics sector. These policies have propelled India into new industrial areas where it was not previously a major manufacturer. The share of made-in-India smartphones in US exports increased to 44% between April and June 2025, up from 13% during the same quarter in 2024. Meanwhile, China’s share dropped from 61% to 25% during the same period. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology recently highlighted the expansion in the electronics and mobile manufacturing sectors between 2014-15 and 2024-25. Exports rose from Rs 38,000 crore to Rs 3.27 lakh crore, while mobile phone production increased from Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 5.45 lakh crore. Mobile exports also surged from Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2 lakh crore, reflecting a 127-fold increase. The production of electronic products also expanded significantly, from Rs 1.9 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs 11.3 lakh crore in 2024-25, a six-fold increase. The mobile manufacturing sector is also experiencing rapid growth, with the number of production units increasing from 2 in 2014-15 to 300 in 2024-25, a 150-fold rise. This shift also indicates a decrease in India’s import dependency. In 2014-15, imports met 75% of the total demand in the Indian market; this dependency has fallen to nearly 0.02% by 2024-25.
