India is now the biggest supplier of smartphones to the US, overtaking China, marking a momentous change in global manufacturing. According to research firm Canalys, cited by the PIB, the share of Indian smartphone imports into the US had abruptly shot up to 44% during April-June 2025, whereas it was meager 13% in the same quarter of the previous year. On the other hand, China saw its share plummeting to just around 25% from 61% in 2024.
Such an extraordinary development has been largely attributed to government interventions like Make in India and the PLI scheme, transforming India’s electronics sector into what it is today.
The Ministry of Electronics & IT recently spoke about the growth journey of India, pointing out its tremendous rise both in production and exports between 2014-15 and 2024-25. From ₹18,000 crore, mobile phone production soared to ₹5.45 lakh crore, while exports surged from just ₹1,500 crore to ₹2 lakh crore a 127-fold increase in exports.
Overall electronics production grew from ₹1.9 lakh crore to ₹11.3 lakh crore, a sixfold increase.
There were only two production units in 2014–15, and by 2024–25, the number had grown to 300 units a massive expansion.
The increase in smartphone exports from India to the United States, which now accounts for 44% of US smartphone imports, is a key factor driving this shift in global manufacturing.This rapid scaling of production, reduction in imports, and emergence as an alternate tech supply chain to China have been largely driven by Make in India and PLI initiatives.
The rise of India as the top exporter of smartphones to the US represents a significant change in the dynamics of global manufacturing. This change has altered the electronics landscape of the nation and is being fueled by strategic initiatives such as the Production Linked Incentive scheme and Make in India.
