India’s new incentive scheme boost to iPhone component manufacturing

Back in the day when people rejected arguments that India would become incredibly important to Apple you may not have expected 25% of all the world’s iPhones would be made there, even while local market sharegrew at a rate higher than the global average.

That, however, is what happened – and now India’s government is indeed opening up new incentive schemes to attract Apple component suppliers to set up shop there, the Electronics Component Manufacturing scheme.

India is full of big intentions

“Components import will reduce after this scheme. We need to come out of the import substitution mindset and go forward with export led promotion. Viability comes after large scale manufacturing. Electronics manufacturing is around $120 billion right now and we are targeting that to grow to $500 billion in the coming years,” said Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology.

To achieve these aims, India is using everything it’s got.

For example, India knows incentives work. It just needs to look at the growing number of iPhones being made there, or huge incoming investments such as at Foxconn’s new factory north of Bengaluru.

These investments have driven a bonanza in growth. Vaishnaw recently noted that electronics manufacturing in India has increased five-fold in the last ten years with exports increasing by a factor of six. Smartphones became India’s largest export in the first 10 months of FY2025 – the minister pointed to a 76% increase in iPhone production year on year, for example.

A matter of international importance

It’s not just about Apple, either, many other tech firms are moving to set up shop there, taking advantage of a highly educated population and preferential exchange rates.

“Electronics is one of the highest-traded and fastest-growing industries globally and is expected to play a pivotal role in shaping the global economy and advancing a country’s economic and technological development,” the government said, announcing its scheme.

Under this six year scheme, manufacturers of display and camera modules, as well as components such as circuit boards, lithium cell enclosures, resistors, capacitors, and other components who begin making those things in India can attract a range of subsidies, including capex and turnover-linked incentives.

The full list of categories is available here.

Bottom line? Yes, Apple will be able to manufacture more and more of the components used in its devices in India, but history also shows that as the manufacturing ecosystem grows, it won’t be too long until you see local, India-native consumer electronics brands begin to play a global role. That’s inevitable as the means of production shifts to India.

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