India has announced a five-year, ₹62,500 crore scheme to transition its mobile phone production from simple assembly to higher-value activities such as design, R&D, and intellectual property, aiming to strengthen domestic brands and enhance global competitiveness.
India has approved a new ₹62,500 crore mobile phone manufacturing scheme designed to push the sector beyond assembly and into higher-value design, intellectual property and component making. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology says the five-year programme, called the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme, will run from FY2026-27 to FY2030-31 and is intended to lift domestic value addition, strengthen supply chains and help Indian firms compete more effectively abroad.
According to the government, the scheme will offer incentives of 2.25 per cent to 5 per cent on eligible sales of phones made in India. Manufacturers that source key components and sub-assemblies locally can receive an extra 1.5 per cent, while companies investing in product design and research for Indian brands can qualify for a further 3 per cent. The incentives are meant to be calculated on a brand-wise basis, and eligible applicants include handset makers as well as India-registered electronics manufacturing services providers.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, the electronics and IT minister, said the plan should give a major boost to Indian-owned brands, design and intellectual property. He stressed that the government wants genuine Indian ownership of brands, trademarks and IP, and said non-fiscal support would be worked out with industry. The emphasis suggests New Delhi is trying to move the sector up the value chain, rather than simply expanding the number of phones assembled in India.
The timing matters because India is already a major force in handset production. WION reported that the country has become the world’s second-largest mobile phone maker by volume, with nearly all phones used domestically now produced locally. Mobile phones have also emerged as India’s largest export category in 2025, overtaking traditional products. That momentum is part of the reason the Cabinet is now backing a more ambitious industrial push.
Industry reactions have focused on the scheme’s attempt to link manufacturing scale with technology depth. Fonada chief executive Nitish Gopalani told WION that the package arrives as smartphones become more AI-driven, with features such as voice AI, live translation and on-device models increasingly shaping buying decisions. He said the Indian-brand track is important because it ties incentives to domestic design and R&D, signalling that assembly alone is no longer the end goal.
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