In the past five years, more than 200 units have been set up in India, which dedicatedly manufacture mobile phones. A few years back, due to the absence of major mobile phone manufacturing companies in the Indian market, Chinese brands overtook this market.
Over the last few years, though, the government has been trying to back made-in-India mobile phones to revive its domestic market. One of the major aims of the ‘Make in India’ initiative launched in 2014 is also directed toward manufacturing indigenous smartphones.
The idea is to generate domestic production and also create job opportunities in this sector. With several efforts from the government, India has become the second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world. India surpassed the USA numbers, reaching 158 billion mobile shipments in the year 2019.
The rising popularity of made-in-India mobile phones
Recently, the Government of India banned several Chinese apps to curb security threats of data exchange. Such a move has also contributed to an urge to use domestically manufactured smartphones.
Thus, mobile phone manufacturers in India are also posited with a crucial task to replace Chinese smartphones and provide citizens with the best indigenous smartphones. The Indian government has initiated the following schemes to boost domestic manufacturing of electronic goods, including smartphones:
- Production Linked Incentive (PLI).
- Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS).
- Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0).
Production of made-in-India mobiles is thus expected to rise, with this market slated to reach a valuation of Rs.10 lakh crore by 2025.
Recently, one of the most popular smartphone manufacturing companies in India, Micromax, announced its comeback in the market. This Indian mobile brand launched its ‘Made in India’ series of smartphones called IN on 3rd November 2020. These smartphones come with all such features that are required to compete with foreign-based smartphone manufacturers, such as that Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Samsung, and so on.
Another important factor that backs the popularity of made-in-India mobile phones is the ease of funding available. Innovative financial instruments such as the Bajaj Finserv EMI Network Card have further allowed individuals to purchase any gadget (including smart phones) without having to worry about payment.
Other than Micromax, the Indian government has announced incentives under the PLI scheme for four other local manufacturing companies. They are:
- Lava.
- Padget Electronics.
- Optiemus Electronics.
- UTL Neolyncs.
Made in India mobiles are thus set to gain more popularity with proper funding and encouragement from the government. Electronics production is expected to cross Rs.1.5 lakh crore in the next five years. Out of this, mobile phone production is likely to constitute above Rs.9 lakh crore.
Indian mobile brands have also made sure to launch budget-friendly smartphones so that individuals choose domestic products over imported ones. To further help everyone purchase the best smartphones, the Bajaj Finserv EMI Network pairs up with numerous stores under its hood, spanning over 1,900 cities. It enables keen buyers to buy mobile phones sooner instead of bothering about the cost.
Apart from this, there are unique benefits offered on financial products by the card provider. One such facility is the pre-approved offer, which helps facilitate easy and hassle-free access to financial products like credit cards and personal loans. To check your pre-approved offer, you need to provide your name and contact details.
As for made-in-India mobile phones, they have thus come to the forefront, competing at par with foreign manufacturers.
According to reports from the government, India exported about 36 million units of smartphones in 2020, showing exceptional improvement from the preceding year (export of 17 million units). It has shown a growth of 111.76% in the domestic smartphone manufacturing sector. The progress so far is convincing and is all set to trigger the popularity of domestic smartphones further.
