What comes as a major boost to the government’s ‘Make-In-India’ campaign is the fact that Apple has made history as the first company to export smartphones worth $1 billion in a single month from India.
As per the reports, the company exported iPhones worth Rs 8100 crore in December 2022, taking the overall industry exports of smartphones to Rs 10,000 crore.
Apple Overtakes Samsung to Become Top Mobile Phone Exporter
When it comes to the mobile phones exports, Apple & Samsung lead the pack. However, when we refer the data it can be clearly seen that Apple overtook Samsung to become the top mobile phone exporter in the country.
Several iPhone models, including the iPhone 12, 13, 14, and 14+ are being manufactured by Apple in India through its three contract manufacturers: Foxconn Hon Hai, Pegatron, and Wistron.
Mobile Phones Export & Govt PLI Scheme
These manufacturers are located in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and are participants in the Indian government’s smartphone Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which was launched in April 2020.
The PLI scheme aims to turn India into a manufacturing hub for smartphones and other electronics. As part of the scheme, manufacturers are required to submit data on production, exports, investments, and jobs to the government on a regular basis.
Other than the three contract manufacturers, smaller Indian players have also been exporting iPhones.
As per government estimates, India is likely to export mobile phones worth USD 9 billion in the Financial Year 2022-23 (FY23), up from USD 5.8 billion in FY22.
In addition to smartphones, government’s ambitious PLI schemes have been extended to 13 sectors. The USD 1 billion export benchmark within a month speaks a lot about success of PLI schemes.
Now, Samsung is no less. The number of mobile phones exports could have been higher for Samsung, if its plant was working at full capacity.
The South Korean company’s production unit was closed for 10-15 days for regular maintenance, leading to a decrease in production and exports.
Not just smartphone exports, electronics exports have also seen significant growth in FY23.
According to the Department of Commerce, overall exports of electronics goods between April and December 2022 reached USD 16.67 billion, an increase of 51.56% over the same period in the previous year. Additionally, more than USD 6 billion worth of smartphones were exported between April and November 2022.
