New Delhi: India is planning a new set of incentives to support domestic mobile phone manufacturing after its flagship production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the sector ends this month. The move is expected to benefit global smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung, which have significantly expanded their production in the country in recent years, according to multiple reports.
The government’s decision to continue supporting the industry comes at a time when India may lose some of its tariff advantage over China in exporting goods to the United States.
The change follows the invalidation of a fentanyl-related levy imposed by President Donald Trump on Beijing by a US court.
Boosting smartphone manufacturing has become a key part of the economic strategy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been pushing to expand domestic manufacturing and strengthen India’s position in global supply chains.
The government aims to increase the country’s electronics manufacturing output to $500 billion by the fiscal year 2030.
Government data shows that India produced nearly $60 billion worth of mobile phones in the 2024–25 fiscal year, marking a massive 28-fold increase over the past decade.
During the same period, mobile phone exports surged to about $21.7 billion, a 127-fold jump, making smartphones the country’s top exported product in 2025.
Officials are now considering linking the new incentives to export performance in order to further promote globally competitive manufacturing.
According to the report, the new scheme could cover investments starting from April this year.
Previously, major manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung relied on India’s production-linked incentive scheme, a programme worth nearly $21 billion designed to help the country compete with China’s manufacturing dominance.
The scheme played a crucial role in encouraging companies to increase local production.
The programme also enabled Apple to begin manufacturing its latest and most expensive iPhone models in India after initially producing only lower-cost versions in the country.
High tariffs imposed on Chinese goods during Trump’s presidency had also encouraged some companies to shift part of their production to India.
