‘India has surpassed its neighbour in exporting smartphones to US’, says Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said that India has surpassed in the export of smartphones to the US “than that of its neighbour”, as New Delhi pushes ahead to be the hub of smartphone manufacturing.

“This year, India has surpassed its neighbour in exporting smartphones to the United States. This is a huge achievement for our country. Some of the biggest companies, about 20 per cent of their manufacturing is now happening in India,” Vaishnaw said in a press conference.

India’s smartphone exports up by 60%

India’s mobile phone exports surged by 60 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal year, reaching $13.5 billion in shipments from April to September FY26, up from $8.5 billion during the same period in FY25. The feat was led by Apple’s iPhone, which has set a new record for exports with the launch of iPhone 17 this September.

After iPhone 17s hit the shelves in September this year, shipments from India moved up by 95 per cent on total export of $1.8 billion, as per data provided by the India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA).

“This confirms that India’s mobile phone manufacturing sector continues to build scale, efficiency, and reliability — three pillars of sustained global competitiveness,” the agency said, adding that most of the exports went to US, UAE, Austria, Netherlands, and the UK.

Besides Apple, India also exports phones from brands like Samsung and Motorola. In contrast, Chinese companies Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi remain focused on the domestic market, with no significant push toward exports at this stage.

India surpasses China

India has overtaken China in smartphone exports to the United States, marking a major milestone in the country’s manufacturing journey, according to a social media post by PIB citing research firm Canalys in August.

As per the post, schemes such as Make in India and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) have played a key role in reshaping the electronics sector.

It said, “As a result of schemes like Make in India and PLI, India is now moving at a new pace in those industrial sectors in which it was never even considered a key manufacturer before. According to a report by research firm Canalys, in the second quarter of this calendar year, i.e., April-June, India has also overtaken China in terms of smartphones exported to the US.”

With inputs from agencies