India is preparing a new set of incentives for smartphone manufacturers, and the plan could benefit companies such as Apple and Samsung Electronics. People familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg, the government is working on a fresh policy that would reward companies for exporting smartphones and using more components produced within India.
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The proposed scheme is expected to replace the current Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) programme for smartphone manufacturing, which ends on March 31. The earlier programme mainly encouraged companies to increase local production. However, the next phase is likely to focus more on exports and deeper local value addition.
Officials believe the first round of incentives successfully pushed global brands to assemble smartphones in India. Today, most phones sold in the country are already manufactured locally. With that goal largely achieved, the government is now looking at the next step, increasing the amount of value created within India and strengthening the country’s role in global electronics supply chains.
Under the new proposal, companies may receive subsidies based on how many devices they ship overseas. By linking incentives to exports, policymakers want manufacturers to use India not just as a production base for local demand but also as a hub for global shipments.
The discussions also showed the growing role of Apple in India’s electronics industry. Companies assembling iPhones contribute a large share of the country’s smartphone exports, helping India emerge as one of the fastest-growing exporters of mobile phones. Reports suggest Apple is planning to manufacture most iPhones destined for the United States in India by the end of this year.
Another important feature of the proposed policy is localisation. Incentives could be structured in tiers depending on how much of a phone’s components are sourced from within India. Devices that include more locally produced parts, such as camera modules, display assemblies and other sub-components, may qualify for higher benefits.
Phones that meet both conditions, meaning strong local sourcing and exports, could receive the maximum incentives under the scheme.
The government is also hoping the policy will encourage brands such as Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi to export devices from India instead of using their local factories mainly to serve the domestic market.
However, building a strong electronics supply chain remains a challenge. While smartphone assembly has grown rapidly in India, many high-value components are still imported from countries like China, South Korea and Taiwan.
The new incentive framework is part of the government’s latest push to strengthen domestic manufacturing under the Make in India initiative. By encouraging exports and local component production, policymakers hope India can move beyond basic assembly and become a more important player in the global smartphone supply chain.
