[News] India Reportedly Eyes Smartphone Export Incentives as Apple Said to Make 25% of iPhones There

India has reportedly proposed a new set of incentives aimed at boosting smartphone exports. According to Bloomberg, sources say the country is preparing a new round of incentives that would tie government subsidies to export performance and the greater use of locally produced components, a move expected to benefit Apple, Samsung Electronics, and other phonemakers.

As the report indicates, the proposal—effectively a second phase of New Delhi’s flagship smartphone production programme—would reward companies for exporting devices overseas. Unlike the current Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) programme, which expires on March 31 and focuses mainly on incremental domestic output, the new plan would link incentives directly to exports and localisation.

The policy design, incentive size and overall budget are still being finalised and could change during inter-ministerial consultations, the report adds.

India Seeks to Expand Smartphone Exports Beyond Domestic Market

The incentive overhaul highlights Apple’s growing importance to India’s electronics ambitions. As the report notes, Apple aims to ship most U.S.-bound iPhones from India by year-end, reinforcing the country’s position as a key production base for smartphones sold in the U.S. The report states that the iPhone maker’s contract manufacturers account for roughly three-fourths of India’s smartphone exports.

As noted by a previous Bloomberg report, sources say Apple increased iPhone production in India by about 53% last year and now manufactures roughly a quarter of its flagship devices in the country, reflecting the U.S. company’s efforts to reduce exposure to tariffs on China. The company currently assembles all versions of the latest iPhone 17 lineup in India—including the high-end Pro and Pro Max models—through suppliers such as Foxconn, Tata Electronics and Pegatron.

Meanwhile, the report also points out that the Indian government is seeking to encourage Chinese smartphone brands such as Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi—which largely manufacture in India for the domestic market—to increasingly use the country as an export base.

India Pushes Deeper Localisation in Smartphone Manufacturing

A second key element of the reported plan is stronger incentives tied to localisation. As the report adds, subsidies are likely to be tiered based on the level of local value addition in each device rather than simple assembly, with additional benefits for sourcing components—such as camera modules, display assemblies and other sub-parts—from Indian suppliers.

While India has successfully attracted large-scale assembly for brands including Apple and Samsung Electronics, high-value components such as semiconductors and advanced modules are still largely imported from countries including China, South Korea and Taiwan, as the report indicates.

The new incentives are expected to align with New Delhi’s Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme, which aims to boost domestic production of parts and sub-assemblies. Separately, the report notes that Dixon Technologies, the country’s largest homegrown electronics contract manufacturer, said on Monday it had received government approval to form a joint venture with HKC of China to manufacture display modules in India.

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(Photo credit: Apple)