Last week, Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister for Railways, communications, electronics and information technology, claimed that 99.2 per cent of all the mobile phones in India are “made in India”.

India is one of the world leaders in the assembled mobile phones industry. Between 2014 and 2022, the country’s cumulative mobile phone shipments crossed 2 billion units, making it the second largest mobile phone producer, according to Counterpoint Research.

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Mobile phones accounted for 43 per cent of the total electronics produced in 2021-22, shows data from the electronics and IT ministry. Mobile phone import has consequently declined by about 60 per cent between 2017-18 and 2021-22, making India a net exporter (chart 2).  

The import of electronics components has increased between FY19 and FY23. It now exceeds $25 billion (chart 3).