Led by a strong push by Apple and Samsung to harness benefits and commitments under the government’s production-linked incentive scheme, exports of smartphones are set to cross the $5 billion mark in 2021-22, the record number coming in as companies gradually pitch India as a core global manufacturing base on the lines of China and Vietnam.
Total smartphone exports are likely to be upwards of £4.2 billion in the just-ending fiscal, according to early estimates by the industry, a growth of over 80% against the near £2.3 billion in 2020-21.
The growth has been meteoric if one considers that till just four years ago, smartphone exports were only at around £130 million (in 2017-18), which then moved up to £1.12 billion in 2018-19, and thereafter to £2.72 billion in 2019-20.
The numbers were subdued in 2020-21 at £2.3 billion due to production and supply disruptions because of the Covid outbreak in the year. The surge in exports is being seen as exemplary as it also came at a time when the broader electronics market was suffering from severe component shortages due to the semiconductor crunch, apart from the disruptions because of the Covid-related lockdowns and restrictions. India’s stressed relations with China, a key supplier of critical components, had also resulted in certain parts being held up, or coming in slower than usual. But the industry seems to have overcome this challenge as well.
