India sees over 90 pc rise in smartphone exports in Nov, Apple leads

New Delhi: India has seen a record smartphone exports in November this year, surpassing the Rs 20,000 crore mark for the first time in a month, which was led by Apple.

According to industry data, smartphone exports crossed Rs 20,300 crore, a more than 90 per cent rise from the same period last year. Apple led the exports last month, followed by Samsung.

In November last year, the smartphone exports from the country was over Rs 10,600 crore, as per the industry data.

The smartphone market in the country is expected to exit 2024 with a single-digit annual growth.

Meanwhile, riding on the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, Apple’s iPhone production in the country reached $10 billion in the seven months of this fiscal (FY25), with $7 billion in exports alone which is a record.

The tech giant manufactured/assembled $14 billion of iPhones in India last fiscal (FY24), with exporting more than $10 billion worth of iPhones.

According to Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, this is yet another milestone for the smartphone PLI scheme in 7 months.

“$10 billion iPhone production by Apple with $7 billion exports. Total smartphone exports from Bharat crossed $10.6 billion in 7 months,” the minister had posted on X last month.

India’s smartphone market is estimated to grow 7-8 per cent this year, driven by strong demand for premium, 5G and AI smartphones. The mobile handset market in India is expected to maintain steady growth.

According to industry experts, to achieve the goal of $500 billion local electronics manufacturing by FY30, the industry must prioritise export growth to emerge as one of the top three global exporters in this domain by 2030, led by mobile manufacturing.

As per the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) data, mobile phone production surged from Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to an estimated Rs 4.10 lakh crore in FY24, registering an increase of a massive 2,000 per cent, driven by the PLI scheme.

—IANS