India plans fresh incentives for phone production in boost for Apple, Samsung

By Shivangi Acharya

NEW DELHI, March 12 (Reuters) - India is planning fresh incentives for local production of mobile phones after its flagship program for the burgeoning sector expires this month, two sources said, in a boost for global firms like Apple AAPL.O and Samsung 005930.KS.

The South Asian nation's intent to continue supporting the industry comes as it stands to lose tariff advantage over China for access to the United States, with President Donald Trump's fentanyl-related levy on Beijing invalidated in a court ruling.

Smartphone production is a key plank of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda to bolster domestic manufacturing. India aims to expand its electronics manufacturing to $500 billion by the fiscal year 2030.

The country produced nearly $60 billion worth of mobiles in the 2024-25 fiscal year, a 28-fold jump over a decade, government data shows. Mobile exports over the same period have risen to nearly in $21.70 billion, a 127-fold jump, making for India's most exported product in 2025.

New Delhi is considering linking the new incentives to exports to further push globally competitive production, an Indian official said. It is likely to cover investments from April this year, the official added.

Previously, industry leaders like Apple and Samsung leaned on the nation's production-linked incentive scheme, a nearly $21 billion program designed to rival China's factory might, that expires this month.

It helped Apple manufacture its most expensive and latest cellphone models in India, after having started with low-cost versions. Trump's high tariffs on China also encouraged some production shift.

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has held consultations with the industry on designing the scheme, an industry executive aware of the talks said.

The ministry did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

($1 = 92.1700 Indian rupees)