India's monthly mobile phone exports cross record $1 billion in Sept: Report

Encouraged by the government's Product Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, mobile phone manufacturers like Apple and Samsung increased production in India for both domestic and international markets, which pushed the export figures, the report said.

Citing exclusive data, ET reported that mobile phone shipments more than doubled to $4.2 billion during the April to September period from $1.7 billion during the same time period in 2021.

The estimated value of the smartphones exported during September 2022 increased by 200 percent as compared to September 2021.

Before this, the monthly export of smartphones jumped in December 2021 to the highest with handsets worth $770 million shipped outside the country.

During the June to August period of this year, exports were roughly $700 million per month.

Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of industry trade group India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) told ET, "To continue this growth, we are working on improving competitiveness through lower tariffs, improved logistics, labour reforms, and deepening of the ecosystem."

The growth in exports has been mainly driven by Apple contract manufacturers Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron, and Samsung, which are the leading global participants in the Centre's Rs 40,995 crore PLI scheme announced in April 2020.

Global giants account for 75 to 80 percent of India's cell phone exports.

ICEA data reflects that the export of mobile phones manufactured in India has jumped manifold -- from 1 percent in 2016-17 to almost 16 percent in 2021–22.

The PLI scheme was launched with the aim to attract manufacturers from China and Vietnam, which export more mobile phones than any other country in the world.

India wants to export mobile phones worth $60 billion by 2025-26.