The company exported 83 per cent of the value of iPhone production from India pegged at $21.5 billion in 2025-26 (FY26). The total value of iPhone production was $26 billion. The import bill for components and others was around $22.3 billion.
The Cupertino-headquartered company is expected to touch an export value share of 85 per cent on the iPhone, which seems achievable in FY27, to become forex-neutral, and then go positive.
The Meity official said: “Yes, we expect iPhone production to become forex-neutral and also positive very soon. The company has year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increased the export value share of its local iPhone production. And, it has also simultaneously increased localisation in the iPhone.”
A query to Apple Inc, however, did not elicit any response.
iPhone’s value-addition in India in FY26 ranged between 12 per cent and 17 per cent depending on the model, averaging at 14.5 per cent. The newer models have lesser value-addition since the ecosystem in India is unable to support latest components. Older models such as iPhones 14, 15 and 16 have a higher value-addition as 40+ domestic companies and joint ventures (JVs) have now started making components and sub-assemblies for iPhone.
The overall value-addition for smartphones in India in general, according to Meity, has jumped from a mere 5 per cent before the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to nearly 19-20 per cent now, with the industry average being a tad higher than Apple’s because of the complexity to make its phones.
Apple, which has been highlighted as the most-successful example of the PLI scheme across multiple parameters — including production, exports, job creation, especially for women, skill development, tech transfer, and factory infrastructure — has been often critiqued for low value-addition.
In the five-year PLI scheme period for mobile devices between FY22 and FY26, it did an iPhone production value of $71 billion, out of which $55.5 billion was exported and the rest sold in the domestic market.
Not only that, the company increased its value share of iPhone exports Y-o-Y, starting at 60 per cent in FY22 to touch 80 per cent in FY25, and 83 per cent in FY26.
To become forex-positive, smartphone companies have to export a substantial 80-90 per cent of the value of their phones, which can be achieved with scale. That is because value-addition in smartphones can go up only to a limited extent. Even in China, which is the best case of localisation, where smartphones were first made nearly 19 years ago, the value-addition on the iPhone is still at 40 per cent.
The five-year PLI scheme, which propelled Apple’s shift and its exports, came to an end in March 2026. While the government is actively considering PLI 2.0, it is in discussions on the various criteria for giving incentives.
 "iphone")