India’s PLI 2.0 push
India is preparing a second wave of production‑linked incentives aimed at scaling mobile‑phone manufacturing. (Officials and industry figures say the scheme targets about 35% of global mobile output and roughly $130 billion in production under a “PLI 2.0” plan.) (telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com) The report notes India keeps a tariff edge in some U.S. channels but still faces a structural cost disadvantage of about 10–12% versus China as it tries to convert trade diversion into deeper local supply chains. (telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com)
India’s electronics industry is pressing New Delhi for a new round of production-linked incentives to keep mobile-phone manufacturing expanding after the current scheme ended on March 31. (telecom.economictimes.com) Industry executives told the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology that a 2026-31 plan could lift India’s share of global mobile production to 30% to 35% by fiscal 2031, from about 15% now. They put annual output at $110 billion to $130 billion and exports at $55 billion to $70 billion under that roadmap. (telecom.economictimes.com) Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on February 3, 2026, that the government was in talks with mobile-phone and information-technology manufacturers on the next version of the incentive program and would take a proposal to the Cabinet after consultations are complete. (telegraphindia.com) A production-linked incentive is a cash subsidy tied to extra output or sales. India used the first version to pull more assembly work into the country, and the industry now wants a second version to push more parts, suppliers and research work to move with it. (pib.gov.in, telecom.economictimes.com) The timing is tied to exports. Commerce ministry data cited by Economic Times Telecom show India’s smartphone exports rose 47.4% to $30.13 billion in 2025, and the United States took $19.7 billion, or 65%, of those shipments. (telecom.economictimes.com) India’s position in the United States market also improved sharply in mid-2025. Canalys data showed India accounted for 44% of smartphones shipped into the United States in the second quarter of 2025, ahead of China’s 25%. (cnbc.com, economictimes.indiatimes.com) Officials and industry executives say that export surge does not settle the harder problem of cost. Economic Times Telecom reported that India still faces a structural manufacturing cost disadvantage of about 10% to 12% versus China even as tariff changes opened an edge in some United States channels. (telecom.economictimes.com) That gap is why the next phase is focused on supply chains, not just final assembly. The government is examining how much domestic value addition companies should meet to qualify for incentives and how to support exports without violating World Trade Organization rules. (telecom.economictimes.com) The first scheme already changed the scale of the industry. The Press Information Bureau said India had more than 300 mobile manufacturing units by September 2025, up from 2 in 2014, and called the country the world’s second-largest mobile manufacturing nation. (pib.gov.in) Exports kept climbing after that build-out. Vaishnaw said on April 8, 2025, that smartphone exports in fiscal 2024-25 had crossed ₹2 lakh crore for the first time, up 54% from the previous year. (ddnews.gov.in) The next test is whether India can turn a burst of tariff-driven orders into a deeper manufacturing base before the current cost edge narrows. The government has not finalized the design of any PLI 2.0 scheme, but the industry has already put its fiscal 2031 targets on the table. (telegraphindia.com, telecom.economictimes.com)
