Electronics Industry and PLI Scheme Impact
The electronics industry, a significant success under the Make-in-India initiative, has generated over 1.33 million jobs in the past five years, driven by the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. This has notably transformed smartphone manufacturing and increased exports tenfold.
Job Creation and Economic Impact
- The industry has seen the creation of approximately 1.33 million jobs:
- 400,000 direct jobs in manufacturing facilities.
- 930,000 indirect jobs in ancillary industries, logistics, and services.
- About 70% of these jobs have been filled by women and first-time workers.
- In FY25, the mobile phone manufacturing ecosystem paid ₹25,000 crore in wages, with direct employees earning an average of ₹18,000 per month.
Growth in Production and Exports
- Mobile phone production increased from ₹2.2 lakh crore in FY21 to over ₹5.45 lakh crore in FY25.
- Exports surged nearly tenfold to more than ₹2 lakh crore during the same period.
Role of the Apple Ecosystem
The Apple ecosystem, including companies like Foxconn, Pegatron, and Tata Electronics, significantly contributed to job creation and production shifts from China to India. Apple now manufactures more than 20% of its iPhones in India, similar to its Chinese production model.
Future Prospects
India is projected to become the world's second-largest mobile phone exporter by 2026. Smartphones have moved up to the second largest product category in India as of FY25, from 167th position in FY2015.
Policy Implications
The success of the PLI scheme aligns with the government's direct-to-indirect job ratio target of 1:3. Continued policy stability could further boost production, domestic value addition, and job creation.
