India's Electronics Manufacturing Boom: From Importer to Global Powerhouse
The smartphone in your pocket is increasingly likely to carry a 'Made in India' label, and this transformation extends to numerous electronic components that power modern daily life. India's electronics manufacturing sector has experienced remarkable growth over the past eleven years, with production skyrocketing approximately six-fold and exports leaping an astonishing eight-fold. The government informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday that India has now firmly established itself as the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer.
Staggering Growth Figures Revealed in Parliament
Sharing official statistics in the House, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada detailed the sector's explosive expansion. Electronics production surged from approximately Rs 1.9 lakh crore in the 2014-15 fiscal year to nearly Rs 11.3 lakh crore in 2024-25. Concurrently, exports climbed from around Rs 0.4 lakh crore to about Rs 3.3 lakh crore during the same period.
Mobile phones have been the undisputed growth engine of this revolution. Production witnessed a dramatic increase from roughly Rs 0.2 lakh crore in 2014-15 to about Rs 5.5 lakh crore in 2024-25. Even more impressively, exports surged from nearly Rs 1,000 crore to close to Rs 2 lakh crore, representing a growth of over 100 times.
The PLI Scheme: Catalyst for Transformation
The government attributes much of this extraordinary momentum to the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing, which was launched in 2020. This strategic initiative has fundamentally reshaped the industry landscape.
Under the PLI scheme, mobile phone output rose from Rs 2.14 lakh crore in 2019-20 to Rs 5.5 lakh crore in 2024-25. Exports expanded significantly from nearly Rs 0.3 lakh crore to Rs 2 lakh crore. This policy intervention has enabled India to transform from a net importer of mobile phones a decade ago into a confident net exporter today.
Prasada informed Parliament that, as of December 2025, the mobile PLI scheme has attracted investments exceeding Rs 15,000 crore and generated over 1.7 lakh additional jobs, providing a substantial boost to employment and economic activity.
Expanding the Horizon: PLI 2.0 for IT Hardware
The success of the mobile PLI scheme has paved the way for its expansion into other segments. The PLI 2.0 scheme for IT hardware, launched in 2023, is already showing promising results. Officials reported that it has led to cumulative production of over Rs 16,500 crore, attracted investments of about Rs 857 crore, and created nearly 4,800 direct jobs so far.
With factories rapidly scaling up production capacity and exports rising steadily, the government asserts that India is solidifying its position as a reliable and competitive global hub for electronics manufacturing. This strategic shift not only enhances India's economic stature but also strengthens its technological sovereignty and creates a robust ecosystem for future innovation.
