January smartphone exports top full-year total of FY21, shows data

India's smartphone exports reached a record Rs. 25,000 crore (US$ 3.14 billion) in January 2025, marking the highest-ever monthly figure and surpassing the total exports of FY21. This represents a 140% increase compared to January 2024, when exports were Rs. 11,373 crore (US$ 1.31 billion). Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Railways, Electronics & IT, Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw, projected that smartphone exports for FY25 will reach Rs. 2,25,000 crore (US$ 25.92 billion), following exports of Rs. 1,35,439 crore (US$ 15.6 billion) in FY24. Of the total exports in January, 70% came from Apple, with Foxconn accounting for 33% of Rs. 8,334 crore (US$ 960 million), and Tata Electronics contributed over. Rs. 6,945 crore (US$ 800 million), and Pegatron exceeding Rs. 4,341 crore (US$ 500 million). The export growth is largely driven by the success of the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which was introduced to improve India's competitiveness by addressing cost disadvantages. The PLI scheme has encouraged global companies, such as Apple, to shift their supply chains to India, establishing some of the country’s largest factories. Smartphone exports have consistently risen since the scheme's launch, from Rs. 26,914 crore (US$ 3.1 billion) in FY21 to Rs. 1,35,439 crore (US$ 15.6 billion) in FY24. A decade ago, in FY15, smartphone exports ranked 167th among India’s total exports. However, by December 2024, they had become the second-largest category. This milestone underscores India's growing importance in the global smartphone market.