The Production Linked Scheme (PLI) for electronics manufacturing is performing well, and it has attracted a cumulative investment of Rs 10,213 crore till December 2024, Union Minister of State for electronics and information technology Jitin Prasada informed Rajya Sabha this week.

Under the special incentive scheme, cumulative production of Rs 6,62,247 crore and additional employment of 137,189 (direct jobs) has been achieved, the minister said in his written reply.

Driven by the special incentive scheme, the production of mobile phones has increased from about 60 million mobile phones in 2014-15 to about 330 million mobile phones in 2023-24. This is more than 5 times increase in number of mobile phones manufactured over the last 10 years.

In value terms, the production of mobile phones has increased from a mere Rs 19,000 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 422,000 crore in 2023-24 growing at a CAGR of 41%. “Due to policies of the government for promotion of electronics manufacturing, India has become a mobile phone exporter now from a mobile importing country in 2014-15,” the minister said in the written reply.

Further, since the inception of the PLI Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing, mobile phone exports have increased from Rs 22,868 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 129,074 crore in 2023-24 growing at a CAGR of 78%. Further, whereas in 2015, 74% of all mobile phones sold in India were imported, India has now reached a point where 99.2% of the mobile handsets being used in India are made in India.

What Else For PLI?

Apart from manufacturing mobile phones, manufacturing of various electronic components/sub-assemblies for mobile phones such as batteries, chargers, PCBA, camera modules, display module, enclosures, USB Cable, Ferrite, and Glass covers has also started in India, the minister apprised the upper house through his reply.

“This clearly indicates that the complete ecosystem for mobile phone manufacturing is developing in the country. The existing component manufacturers are expanding their existing capacity and new players are also exploring India as a potential market,” said the minister. The government also recognises the contribution of small players producing mainly for domestic markets.

The domestic mobile phone manufacturers under the PLI Scheme have made a cumulative investment of Rs 787 crore, leading to cumulative production of Rs 34,111 crore and generating additional employment of 25,288 (direct jobs) till December 2024.

“As the scheme is performing well, no changes in this scheme are anticipated at present,” the minister’s reply concluded.

As part of its ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’ plan, the government launched production incentive (PLI) schemes in over a dozen sectors in 2020, to make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investments, enhance exports, integrate India into the global supply chain and reduce dependency on imports.