In 2014, the Indian smartphone story was one of insatiable demand but limited domestic supply. Millions of Indians were embracing digital connectivity, yet the devices fueling this revolution mostly arrived from overseas. India was a consumer—dependent, import-driven, and far from the global manufacturing spotlight.
But the script began to change. A vision was laid down, policies were crafted, and the world started watching. Over the next decade, factory floors buzzed to life across states, assembly lines expanded, and India began to stitch itself into the global smartphone supply chain.
By 2025, the narrative had flipped entirely. No longer just a market of consumers, India had emerged as the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer and a growing exporter of high-value devices. Apple, Samsung, and a host of other global giants now call India a manufacturing hub, while Indian companies like Dixon and Tata Electronics power an ecosystem that was once unimaginable. Recently, India has surpassed China to become the leading supplier of smartphones in the US.
This week, The People Weekly by PeopleLogic, is not just the story of smartphones—it is India’s manufacturing success story, a case study in how vision, policy, and talent converged to turn a nation from an importer to a global exporter in less than a decade.
The Genesis of a Revolution: Policy & Vision
India’s journey from a smartphone importer to a global manufacturing hub did not happen overnight. It was the result of a sustained, multi-pronged policy push that aligned with long-term industrial vision. Recent headlines showcase this paradigm shift. According to government data, smartphone exports from India surged past USD 15 billion in FY24, up from just USD 3 billion in FY21. Apple alone now ships more iPhones from India than ever before, accounting for a growing share of its global supply. Samsung, Xiaomi, and other giants have expanded their local facilities, while new contract manufacturers like Foxconn and Tata Electronics are scaling production to meet international demand.
Make in India: The Foundational Push
Launched in 2014, the Make in India initiative was a turning point. It set the stage for encouraging domestic production across sectors, with electronics and mobile phones as prime beneficiaries.
Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP): Building Blocks of Value Addition
Introduced in 2017, PMP focused on nurturing local supply chains by imposing phased duties on imported components while incentivizing local assembly. The gradual rise in value addition—from chargers and batteries to printed circuit boards—ensured that India moved beyond mere assembly and into true component-level manufacturing.
Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme: The Game Changer
The PLI Scheme, launched in 2020, was perhaps the single most transformative intervention. By offering financial incentives tied to incremental production, the scheme attracted global heavyweights like Apple, Samsung, and their suppliers. Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron set up large-scale facilities in India, while homegrown players like Dixon Technologies rose to prominence.
PLI not only scaled production but also embedded India more firmly into global electronics supply chains, driving billions in investment and export-focused output.
Other Supporting Policies: Creating the Ecosystem
Beyond PMP and PLI, India launched complementary initiatives such as:
Semicon India (2021): Designed to reduce chip dependency and nurture semiconductor manufacturing.
SPECS (Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors): Extended capital subsidies for critical component production.
Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC): Facilitated infrastructure development in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.
Together, these policies created a fertile environment for sustained growth in the sector, proving that the future of manufacturing in India lies in consistent policy vision matched with global ambition.
The Export Surge: Key Milestones & Drivers
The results of these policies are visible in India’s export performance and manufacturing scale.
Dramatic Growth in Exports
Smartphone exports jumped from USD 3 billion in FY21 to USD 15 billion in FY24, marking a five-fold increase in just three years.
According to IBEF, India shipped over 500 million smartphones annually by 2024, with an increasing proportion earmarked for global markets.
In 2025, India officially became the second-largest smartphone exporter in Asia, ahead of Vietnam in certain segments.
This surge underlines India’s transition from import dependency to global supplier status—a rare reversal in the global trade narrative.
Global Giants Leading the Charge
Apple: With Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron scaling operations in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Apple now exports iPhones worth USD 10 billion annually from India. Nearly 7–8% of global iPhone shipments originate here, a share expected to rise to 25% by 2027.
Samsung: Its Noida facility remains one of the largest smartphone plants in the world, supplying both domestic and export markets. In 2024, Samsung shifted significant production from Vietnam to India in response to tariff challenges and supply chain risks.
Other Players: Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, Motorola, and Realme continue to expand domestic production, supported by Indian partners like Dixon Technologies and Bharat FIH.
Diversification from China
The ongoing global supply chain realignment—accelerated by U.S.-China trade tensions—has worked in India’s favor. Companies seeking to reduce overdependence on China found India to be a compelling alternative due to its large market, skilled workforce, and proactive policies.
Growing Domestic Capabilities
What sets India apart today is not just assembly but maturing ecosystem capabilities—from tooling to PCB design and from logistics to automation. This ecosystem maturity is what enables India to scale quality exports without compromising on cost competitiveness.
Talent & Ecosystem Impact: What This Means for Workforce
Behind this manufacturing revolution lies a deeper story of people, skills, and jobs.
Job Creation Across the Value Chain
According to a PIB report, the mobile phone industry has created over 800,000 direct jobs and 2.5 million indirect jobs in India since 2017. States like Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka have become manufacturing hotspots, driving both blue-collar and white-collar employment.
Direct Jobs: Factory workers, assembly line staff, quality control engineers.
Indirect Jobs: Logistics providers, raw material suppliers, packaging, and services.
The growth of mobile manufacturing jobs in India is a cornerstone of the country’s broader employment strategy.
Emerging Skill Demands
With growing complexity, the sector now demands specialized roles, reshaping the electronics manufacturing skills landscape:
Skilled Workforce: India’s Key Advantage
India’s demographic dividend continues to be its strongest advantage. With a young, trainable, and increasingly skilled workforce, the country is well-positioned to meet the talent demand in electronics. Initiatives like Skill India and partnerships between industry and academia have also bridged critical skill gaps.
At the same time, the rise in demand for engineers, technicians, and supply chain experts underscores the need for future-ready skilling programs. For global players, India’s skilled talent pool is a decisive factor in investment decisions.
Conclusion
India’s smartphone manufacturing revolution is more than an industrial success—it is a testament to how vision, policy, and talent can rewrite a nation’s economic destiny. In just over a decade, India has transformed from a passive consumer market into a global production powerhouse, attracting the world’s leading technology brands while nurturing its own ecosystem of manufacturers, suppliers, and skilled professionals.
This is not the end of the journey but the foundation of a much larger ambition: positioning India as a global hub for electronics and advanced manufacturing. With deepening localization, growing exports, and an empowered workforce, India now stands at the threshold of becoming not just a smartphone leader, but a defining force in the future of global technology supply chains.
