Exports of electronics goods by India reached an all-time high of ₹8,806 crores in December 2020. Mobile phones accounted for most of these exports by value, at 35%. The value of the export of mobile phones by India was ₹3,061 crore, which is 50% higher than in December 2019.
The industry is “overcoming unprecedented challenges” brought by the pandemic and is on the path to regaining the “momentum envisaged in the National Policy on Electronics 2019 (NPE 2019)”, according to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA).
“Backed by the PLI scheme, during the covid period industry has made substantial investments of more than ₹2,000 crores. Electronic goods exports for the current year have crossed the ₹50,000 crore mark despite the covid-19 pandemic and the complete washout of production for 45 days,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA. “The mobile handset industry has catered to the domestic demand during the pandemic as well as exports of more than ₹14,000 crores till December 2020,” he said.
Rolling out the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme would help boost exports more, the industry body said. The ICEA had written to the government, asking for RoDTEP to be introduced for the sector, before the Union budget this year. The government also increased customs duties on certain components in the Union budget this year and the industry body recommended their reversal.
Boosting electronics exports is high on the government agenda right now. The Union government announced its Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for this last year. The scheme offers 4-6% cash incentives on incremental sale of mobile phones manufactured in India for the next five years. The first companies approved under the mobile phones PLI scheme are expected to produce products worth ₹10.5 trillion in the next five years, of which approximately 60% will be exported.
India also extended the PLI scheme to IT products recently, which is expected to add ₹2.45 trillion to the country’s electronics exports in the next four years.
