January smartphone exports top full-year total of FY21, shows data

Smartphone exports in January crossed $3 billion (₹25,000 crore) this year — the highest ever in a single month — according to industry estimates.

 

To put it in perspective, the $3.14 billion exported in January 2025 matches the total smartphone exports for 2020-21 (FY21). By comparison, January 2025 exports were 140 per cent higher than those in January 2024, when India recorded $1.31 billion in smartphone exports.

 

Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw recently posted on X that smartphone exports for 2024-25 are likely to reach ₹2.25 trillion. Exports in 2023-24 (FY24) stood at $15.6 billion.

 

Of the total exports in January, nearly 70 per cent came from Apple via iPhone shipments. Foxconn alone accounted for 33 per cent of total exports, equivalent to $960 million. Tata Electronics, which acquired Wistron, followed closely with over $800 million, while Pegatron (where Tata has taken a majority controlling stake) recorded its highest-ever monthly exports, crossing $500 million. In January, all three Apple vendors exceeded their previous single-month export records.

 

Other contributors to exports included South Korean giant Samsung and merchandise exports from India.

 

The trajectory of smartphone exports from India has been steadily rising since the launch of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. In the first year of the scheme — FY21 — exports remained low as Apple vendors were unable to start operations in India due to Covid-19. Apple’s three vendors began producing iPhones primarily for export.

 

This milestone marks a major success for the smartphone PLI scheme, introduced four years ago to enhance competitiveness by addressing India’s cost disadvantages. The PLI scheme has led global value chains like Apple to shift supply chains to India, with their vendors setting up some of the country’s largest factories. Export numbers have surged ever since.

 

After reaching $3.1 billion in FY21, smartphone exports nearly doubled to $5.8 billion in 2021-22. In 2022-23, exports rose to $11.1 billion, and in FY24, they climbed further to $15.6 billion.

 

A decade ago, in 2014-15, smartphone exports ranked 167th among India’s exports by the Harmonized System (HS) Code. By December 2024, they had surged to the second-largest spot.