India's electronics exports surge 11-fold to Rs 4.24 lakh crore, women's workforce nears 30%
India's electronics exports rose over 11-fold to reach Rs 4.24 lakh crore in FY2025-26, according to official data, with electronic goods now India's third-largest export category (about USD 47.96 billion in FY 2025).
Mobile phone manufacturing led the growth: domestic mobile phone production rose from Rs 18,000 crore (2014-15) to Rs 6.27 lakh crore (2025-26), while mobile phone exports surged roughly 165-fold, from Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2.59 lakh crore over the same period, making India the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer.
The electronics manufacturing ecosystem has generated about 12 lakh jobs; women now account for nearly 30% of the workforce in the broader electronics sector and close to 70% of the workforce specifically in mobile phone manufacturing.
The growth is attributed to flagship government schemes — the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), and the Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme.
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing
The PLI Scheme, first approved in 2020, offers manufacturers a percentage-based cash incentive on incremental sales (over a base year) of goods manufactured in India, for a fixed number of years, to attract large investment in mobile phone and electronic component manufacturing and offset India's cost disadvantage relative to competitors. It marked a shift from India's earlier tariff-protection approach to manufacturing to a direct, output-linked subsidy model.
Key Details
- The PLI for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing was notified in April 2020 with an outlay of approximately Rs 40,995 crore, targeting mobile phones and specified electronic components.
- PLI schemes have since been extended to 14 sectors beyond electronics, including pharmaceuticals, telecom, and automobiles.
- Incentives are typically calculated as a percentage (around 4-6% in the electronics PLI) of incremental sales of eligible products manufactured in India, over a defined base year.
The steep rise in mobile phone production value (from Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 6.27 lakh crore) closely tracks the period since the PLI scheme's 2020 rollout, making it the primary policy driver credited for India's shift from mobile-phone importer to major exporter.
Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) and India Semiconductor Mission (ISM)
Recognising that mobile assembly alone leaves India dependent on imported components, the government launched the ECMS in 2025 to build a component ecosystem (passive components, sub-assemblies, bare components) that reduces import dependence and deepens domestic value addition. It works alongside the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), launched in December 2021 to build semiconductor and display fabrication capacity in India.
Key Details
- ECMS was notified on 8 April 2025 with an original outlay of about Rs 22,919 crore; the Union Budget 2026-27 raised this outlay to Rs 40,000 crore.
- ECMS has a tenure of six years, plus an optional one-year gestation period.
- India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) was approved in December 2021 with an outlay of about Rs 76,000 crore to develop a sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem.
- Government target: a USD 500-billion domestic electronics manufacturing ecosystem by 2030-31.
ECMS and ISM are cited as the schemes now driving the next phase of growth — moving India up the value chain from device assembly to component and chip manufacturing, which underpins the sustainability of the export surge reported.
Women's Workforce Participation in Manufacturing
Rising female labour force participation in organised manufacturing, especially electronics, is a notable trend tracked against India's overall low female labour force participation rate (FLFPR), which despite recent improvement (Periodic Labour Force Survey shows FLFPR above 40% by usual status in recent years) remains below several peer economies. Electronics assembly work, being less physically strenuous and often located in special manufacturing clusters/SEZs with female-friendly infrastructure requirements, has emerged as a significant formal-sector employer of women.
Key Details
- Women constitute nearly 70% of the workforce in mobile phone manufacturing specifically, and nearly 30% across the broader electronics manufacturing ecosystem.
- The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) since 2017-18, is the primary official source for FLFPR data in India.
The reported near-30% women's workforce share in electronics, and 70% in mobile manufacturing, is presented as evidence that manufacturing-led growth is also translating into formal-sector employment gains for women — a theme relevant to Mains answers on inclusive industrial growth.
- Electronics exports: Rs 4.24 lakh crore in FY2025-26 (11-fold increase); USD 47.96 billion in FY 2025, India's third-largest export category.
- Mobile phone production: Rs 18,000 crore (2014-15) → Rs 6.27 lakh crore (2025-26).
- Mobile phone exports: Rs 1,500 crore → Rs 2.59 lakh crore (~165-fold increase); India is the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer.
- Jobs created in electronics manufacturing: about 12 lakh.
- Women's share of workforce: ~30% in electronics manufacturing overall; ~70% in mobile phone manufacturing specifically.
- ECMS outlay: raised from ~Rs 22,919 crore (2025) to Rs 40,000 crore (Union Budget 2026-27).
- India Semiconductor Mission outlay: ~Rs 76,000 crore (approved December 2021).