NE BUSINESS BUREAU
NEW DELHI, AUG 21
For years, the defining question in India’s mobile revolution was how many phones could the country make. The next question is far more consequential: how many of those phones can India design, own, brand and export to the world?
India takes another major step towards becoming a global mobile manufacturing powerhouse.
The GoI has launched the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) to strengthen domestic manufacturing, deepen value addition, support Indian mobile brands & build electronics ecosystem. pic.twitter.com/qOalmcZWcu
— Ministry of Electronics & IT (@GoI_MeitY) August 21, 2026
- New Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme seeks to propel India from global production powerhouse to home-grown technology and brand leader
- Ashwini Vaishnaw says India could see its first strong indigenous mobile brand by mid-2027 as policy shifts towards Indian ownership, IP, design and R&D
- Five-year scheme targets ₹39 lakh crore cumulative production, deeper domestic value addition and stronger integration with global electronics supply chains
- Around 60,000 direct jobs expected as government backs Indian brands, domestic sourcing and technology sovereignty
- Up to 5% manufacturing incentive, additional support for Indian design/R&D and up to 1.5% incentive for localisation of key components
That strategic shift is at the heart of the ₹62,500-crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS), notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), as India seeks to move beyond manufacturing scale towards technology sovereignty, deeper domestic value addition and globally competitive Indian-owned mobile brands.
The five-year scheme, running from FY2026-27 to FY2030-31, is designed to consolidate India’s position as a global mobile manufacturing and export hub while encouraging the creation of Indian intellectual property, design and R&D capabilities.
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said the country is poised to see its first strong indigenous mobile brand by mid-2027, signalling an ambition that goes beyond assembling products for global companies.
The next big leap: Who owns the technology?
The government’s message is unmistakable: Indian manufacturing alone is no longer enough. Indian ownership must become the next frontier.
Vaishnaw said the MPMS would provide a significant impetus to the development of Indian-owned mobile brands, intellectual property and design.
Emphasising the importance of genuine Indian ownership, he said the design, intellectual property and brand must be Indian-owned and capable of competing with the best products in their respective market segments.
He also said the government would undertake a meticulous evaluation to ensure that intellectual property is genuinely Indian-owned, while non-fiscal and other support measures would be developed in consultation with industry.
That marks a significant evolution in India’s electronics policy—from building manufacturing capacity to building technology ownership and globally recognisable Indian brands.
₹39 lakh crore production target
The scale of the new mission is formidable.
During the scheme’s five-year tenure, cumulative mobile phone production is expected to reach approximately ₹39 lakh crore, accompanied by a significant increase in exports. The scheme is also expected to generate around 60,000 direct jobs.
The government is betting that the next phase of growth will come from greater localisation of components and sub-assemblies, stronger domestic supply chains and Indian companies moving higher up the global value chain.
The MPMS therefore has two target segments:
- Target Segment 1 (TS1): Incentivising mobile phone manufacturing.
- Target Segment 2 (TS2): Supporting Indian mobile phone brands.
For TS1, eligible manufacturers can receive differentiated incentives ranging from 2.25% to 5%. For TS2, Indian brands can receive a 5% incentive, with an additional 3% incentive for Indian design and R&D. The scheme also provides non-fiscal support for Indian brands.
An additional incentive of up to 1.5% is available for domestic sourcing of key components and sub-assemblies, provided the prescribed localisation threshold is met.
The ‘Indian brand’ test
The scheme sets a deliberately high bar for companies seeking support under the Indian-brand segment.
Eligible applicants must be registered or incorporated in India, hold their IP and trademarks within India, have management control with Indian citizens, maintain more than 51% shareholding with Indian citizens, and possess in-house R&D and design capabilities in India.
For TS1, manufacturers, including Electronics Manufacturing Services providers, must have a minimum turnover of ₹10,000 crore in FY2025-26. Existing brands must meet an annual sales threshold of ₹5,000 crore over and above their FY2025-26 sales, while a new brand becomes eligible after achieving ₹10,000 crore in annual sales in India and must thereafter meet the prescribed year-on-year threshold.
For TS2, applicants must have a minimum turnover of ₹1,000 crore in FY2025-26 and satisfy the criteria prescribed for an Indian brand.
The architecture makes one thing clear: the government wants scale, ownership and technological depth to develop together.
From mobile assembly to mobile ecosystem
India’s transformation in mobile manufacturing over the past decade provides the launchpad for this next phase.
The country’s electronics manufacturing sector has expanded dramatically since 2014. India is now the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer by volume, while 99.2% of mobile phones used in India are made domestically. Smartphones also emerged as India’s largest individual exported commodity in FY2025-26, surpassing traditional leading export categories.
The earlier Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing (PLI-LSEM) played a catalytic role in establishing India as a global hub for mobile manufacturing and exports. Its tenure ended on March 31, 2026, creating the need for a fresh policy framework to sustain and deepen the momentum.
The new scheme arrives at that inflection point.
Instead of merely asking manufacturers to produce more phones, MPMS seeks to encourage the ecosystem to source more components locally, develop indigenous designs, generate patents and create brands that can compete internationally.
The value-addition battle begins now
The most important metric in the next phase may therefore not be the number of phones rolling off Indian assembly lines, but the share of economic and technological value retained within India.
The government says domestic value addition has already reached 23% in FY2023-24, while the earlier large-scale electronics PLI attracted around ₹96,000 crore of investment across the mobile manufacturing ecosystem.
The MPMS attempts to push that figure higher by rewarding localisation of critical components and sub-assemblies.
The additional incentive of up to 1.5% for domestic sourcing is available where such components are localised for at least 25% of total mobile phone units manufactured in a financial year.
That could encourage a deeper ecosystem involving component makers, MSMEs, design houses, testing facilities and R&D centres—potentially turning India from a large manufacturing destination into a more complete electronics innovation ecosystem.
India’s brand moment?
The real test of the ₹62,500-crore mission, however, will be whether India can produce brands that command attention not because they are subsidised, but because they are innovative, desirable and globally competitive.
Vaishnaw’s mid-2027 projection puts a tangible timeline on that ambition.
The journey from “Made in India” to “Designed in India” and ultimately “Owned in India” could become the defining story of the country’s next electronics revolution.
The government has already demonstrated that policy can dramatically change India’s manufacturing footprint. The new challenge is more difficult—and potentially more rewarding: to convert manufacturing muscle into intellectual property, intellectual property into brands, and brands into enduring global technology companies.
If the MPMS delivers on its ambition, India’s mobile story may soon be measured not merely by how many smartphones the country manufactures for the world, but by how many global consumers recognise an Indian name when they reach for one.
