India shipped two billion domestically-manufactured smartphones and feature phones between 2014-22, ascending its position as the second-largest mobile phone producer, a report has revealed.
The research by Counterpoint also said that the country has registered a compound annual growth rate of 23 percent in mobile production.
Citing the reasons behind the mobile phone production in the country, the report argued that the growth has been mainly due to a surge in demand within the country, increasing digital literacy and strategic governmental support.
Sputnik India reached out to a tech analyst and a market analyst to understand the factors that have made India a giant in terms of mobile production, competition for the country, probable markets, and other aspects.
Faisal Kawoosa, chief analyst and founder of Techarc, a Gurugram-based tech market advisory firm, told Sputnik India: “India has been conscious of the fact that it needs to develop indigenous capabilities in manufacturing and design in high volume consumer electronics products including mobile phones. Subsequently, we have been seeing the government creating a conducive policy environment that has led to all major mobile brands to open up their manufacturing facilities in India or partnering with contract manufacturers to Make in India.”
Highlighting some of the policies, Kawoosa said that there was a report published in 2008 that first drew attention to how electronic imports were going to exceed oil, and hence identifying a need to arrest this trend.
“Then in 2012, we saw the National Policy on Electronics (NPE) coming out as the first vision document in this direction. Since then, especially after 2014, we have seen the government persistently augmenting and fine-tuning the policy framework to make it attractive for all to make mobile phones in India."
He said be it the modified SIP or PLI scheme, both have helped to bring the India mobile industry to the present state where we are seeing India not only producing for domestic markets but also exporting.
"Apple, Samsung, Vivo, Lava among few more brands are already exporting phones made out of India,” Kawoosa added.
Echoing the views of Kawoosa, Manish Rawat, a market research analyst with tech advisory firm TechInsights, told Sputnik India that the “Make in India initiative, burgeoning consumer demand, strategic collaborations, skilled labor, localized approaches, the pandemic's impact, and digital infrastructure expansion have all converged to position India as a global powerhouse in smartphone production.”
India, Russia Collaboration on Mobile Phones Can Deliver Promising Results
While sharing views about prospects of India-Russia joint production of mobile phones, both experts said that such collaboration can benefit both countries.
According to Kawoosa, there are some important materials that Russia is rich in and as India's mobile manufacturing further integrates, supply of those important raw materials can be a strategic association between the two countries adding to their long history of trade ties.
"Russia has been a partner of India in strategic sectors like defense, so no big challenge in visualizing some collaboration in mobile and other smart electronics as well that could add to the overall value,” Kawoosa opined.
Reiterating Kawoosa’s views, Rawat stated that Indian brands have gained global recognition by offering affordable, feature-rich smartphones tailored to diverse user preferences while Russia has expertise in producing cost-effective devices aligned with consumers seeking value without sacrificing functionality.
Therefore, collaboration between the two countries can deliver promising results, Rawat added.
How Can India Become the Largest Mobile Phone Manufacturer?
India has taken a commendable journey from being a consumer nation to becoming a producer, and it underscores its potential to continue shaping the global technology landscape, however, it still lags behind China which is the largest mobile phone manufacturer.
China accounts for around 50 percent of total mobile phone production globally while India’s share is around 20 percent followed by Vietnam (10 percent).
Talking about steps India should take to overtake China in mobile phone manufacturing, he said it would be unfair to think of undoing China's persistent efforts and injection of resources in building a thriving mobile manufacturing industry.
He asserted that India should rather think of how it can add value to the global supply chain by adding capacities and helping nations and companies to create parallel industries to reduce their dependence on a single geography.
Meanwhile, Rawat said that in order to surpass China, India must adopt a comprehensive approach and prioritize research and development (R&D).
“Collaboration between the government, private companies, and academic institutions can foster innovation, enabling India to lead in mobile manufacturing. Apart from this, establishing a robust supply chain infrastructure is vital. This involves investing in transportation, logistics, warehousing, and favorable policies to attract domestic and foreign investments,” he added.
As the country became the second-largest mobile phone maker, mobile phones have become the country’s fifth-largest export.
On the export of Made in India mobile phones, Kawoosa said that not only non-Chinese brands like Samsung, Apple or Lava are exporting, but also Vivo which has its origin in China is now exporting smartphones from India.
He said that more brands are likely to join the wagon soon and despite the fact that India might not export as many smartphones as China, it will soon feature in the list of top five mobile-exporting nations.
However, Rawat sees some challenges in terms of the export of mobile phones: “Despite remarkable development in manufacturing, specific challenges need to be resolved. First, India-made phones must be innovative and of a high enough caliber to compete globally.”
The other challenges which Rawat highlighted included investment in research and development through partnerships with global tech companies, strengthening logistics infrastructure that includes reliable raw material procurement, and enabling simplified export procedures.
Talking about the probable markets for Made in India mobile phones, both experts said that Made in India mobiles can go anywhere, adding that Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Europe, and Latin America are some of the countries which have huge opportunities.