Nations importing India-made smartphones

As per Apr-Oct 2022 data, UAE was the largest importer with 27.3% of smartphone exports from India, followed by the US with 11.62% share.

New Delhi, Jan 16: Ever since India launched its 'Make in India' mission and brought in a PLI scheme for mobile manufacturers, the smartphone market has not been the same here. From an importing country, today India is one of the leading exporters of smart phones for most of the world. One data shows that the market for 'Made in India' smartphones grew 16% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2022.

For the first time the numbers went above 44 million units. Needless to say the shine of 'Make in India' mission is still around as the in-house manufacturing contributed to almost two-thirds of total 'Made in India' shipments in Q2. Additionally, there is also a huge contribution from third-party EMS players with their smart devices.

Not just the smart phones, even the feature phones that have been built in India have carved a niche for their utility in the global market. Needless to say in this segment Lava has again emerged as a leader with 21% market share.

Oppo, Samsung, Vivo... now they all make in India

Although none of Oppo, Samsung or Vivo are Indian companies, their Indian chapters have contributed significantly in upping their ante when it comes to 'Make in India'. For instance, out of the exporters of the smart phones, it is Oppo Mobiles India Private Limited which has accounted for maximum exports.

Similarly, Samsung India and Vivo Mobile India have been major exporters of made in India smart phones. Since, the demand for India made smart phones has gone up, companies like Oppo and Samsung have also expanded their operations. For instance, OPPO recently announced the Vihaan initiative under which it plans to invest US$60 million in the next five years.

Needless to say Samsung went up with its manufacturing capacity as it now produces a large number of Galaxy S series phones in India.

There is huge demand for India-made smartphones and as the data shows, most of it has come from countries like the US, UAE, Netherlands, etc. The data from Apr-Oct, 2022 shows that whereas UAE was the largest importer with 27.3% of smart phone exports from India, America is another importer as it sourced 11.62% of India's smartphone exports.

Nonetheless, the Netherlands with 8.18%, Austria 7.75%, UK 7.68%, Italy 6.55% and Germany 5.73% are some major European nations who bought smartphones from India. There is also a huge market for India made smartphones in the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, France, etc. amongst others.