Supported by PLI, export of electronic products overtake garment exports

The export of electronic products from India has overtaken ready-made garment exports, The Times of India (ToI) has reported. The development assumes significance because garment exports have traditionally been the centrepiece of Indian exports.

The shift to the export of electronic products comes on the heels of a substantial increase in the export of mobile phones. Data released by the commerce department estimates that the exports of electronic products may have increased over 50 per cent in the financial year 2022-2023 to $23.6 billion. The export of ready-made garments increased only by over 1 per cent last fiscal year and stood at $16.3 billion.

The report added that electronic goods were the sixth-biggest item in the basket, which was slightly lower than the $25.4 billion for drugs and pharmaceuticals. Notably, India is the world's major manufacturer and exporter of generic medicines.

Estimates say that a total of over $11 billion worth of mobile phones were exported last fiscal year, the newspaper reported.

Electronic exports have especially gone up in recent years, thanks to the government's push towards manufacturing more mobile phones in India. This manufacturing includes marquee devices like Apple's iPhones.

However, India remains a net importer of goods. In other words, India imports more than it exports. The only silver lining is the fact that the gap between imports and exports is reducing.

India's energy bills still dominate the country's imports. Petroleum shipments stood at $210 million during 2022–23. Coal and petroleum accounted for around 36 per cent of India's total import bill of $714 billion. This is up from last year's energy imports, which were 31 per cent of the total imports.