Indian Smartphones Take Lead in US Export Market, Ousting China

India has become the leading exporter of smartphones to the United States, surpassing China, according to a report from Canalys. The achievement is fueled by the ‘Make in India’ initiative and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which have spurred growth in the electronics sector. These policies have enabled India to advance rapidly in manufacturing areas where it was previously less prominent. Smartphones manufactured in India accounted for 44% of US exports between April and June 2025, up from 13% in the corresponding period of 2024. Conversely, China’s share of the market fell from 61% to 25% during the same timeframe. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has reported substantial expansion in the electronics and mobile manufacturing sectors between 2014-15 and 2024-25. Exports increased from Rs 38,000 crore to Rs 3.27 lakh crore, while mobile phone production rose from Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 5.45 lakh crore. Mobile exports also saw a significant surge, increasing from Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2 lakh crore, a 127-fold increase. The production of electronic products also experienced considerable growth, increasing from Rs 1.9 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs 11.3 lakh crore in 2024-25, a six-fold increase. The mobile manufacturing sector is also expanding rapidly, with the number of production units increasing from 2 in 2014-15 to 300 in 2024-25, representing a 150-fold increase. This also highlights a decrease in India’s import dependency. In 2014-15, imports accounted for 75% of the total demand in the Indian market; by 2024-25, this dependence had fallen to approximately 0.02%.