According to the Ministry of Communications, the telecom equipment manufacturing sales have crossed Rs 500 billion under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, electronics with exports totalling approximately Rs 105 billion and creating more than 17,800 direct jobs.

The telecom PLI scheme has attracted an investment of Rs 34 billion. The scheme has led to a significant increase in production, employment generation, economic growth, and exports in the country.

This milestone underscores the robust growth and competitiveness of India’s telecom manufacturing industry, driven by government initiatives to promote local production and reduce import dependency. The PLI scheme aims to enhance domestic manufacturing capabilities and make India a global hub for telecom equipment production. In addition, the scheme offers financial incentives to manufacturers based on their incremental sales from products manufactured in India.

As a result of the PLI scheme for Telecom and Networking Products and other related initiatives run by both the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the gap between telecom imports and exports has reduced significantly with the total value of goods (both telecom equipment and mobiles put together) exported is over Rs 1.49 trillion as against imports of over Rs 1.53 trillion in FY24.

In fact, over the last five years, the trade deficit in telecom (both telecom equipment and mobiles put together) has reduced from Rs 0.68 trillion to Rs 40 billion and both the PLI schemes have started to make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investment in the areas of core competency and cutting-edge technology, ensure efficiencies, create economies of scale, enhance exports and make India an integral part of the global value chain. It has transformed India’s exports basket from traditional commodities to high value-added products.

Furthermore, the PLI scheme for large scale electronic manufacturing of electronics covers the manufacture of mobile phones and its components. As a result, both the production and export of mobile phones from India has picked up greatly. India from being a large importer of mobile phones in the financial year 2014-15 (FY15), when only 58 million units were produced in the country, while 0.21 billion units were imported, in FY24, 0.33 billion units were produced in India and only 3 million units were imported and close to 50 million units were exported. Furthermore, the value of exports of mobile phones has gone up from Rs 15.56 billion in FY15 and just Rs 13.67 billion in FY18, to Rs 1289.82 billion in FY24.  Also, import of mobile phones was valued a Rs 486.09 billion in FY15 and has dropped to just Rs 76.65 crore in FY24.

The key highlights of telecom (excluding mobile) include:

  • Industry growth: The telecom equipment manufacturing sector has demonstrated exceptional growth, with total sales exceeding Rs 500 billion by PLI companies. Sales of telecom and networking products by PLI beneficiary companies in FY24 has increased by 370 per cent vis-a-vis base year (FY20).
  • Job creation: The initiative has not only contributed to economic growth, however, also generated substantial employment opportunities across the value chain, from manufacturing to research and development, creating more than 17,800 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs.
  • Reduced import dependency: By encouraging local production, the PLI scheme has significantly reduced the country’s reliance on imported telecom equipment, resulting in import substitution of 60 per cent and India has become almost self–reliant in Antennae, gigabit passive optical network (GPON) and customer premises equipment (CPE). Reducing import dependency has thereby enhanced national security and fostered self-reliance.
  • Global competitiveness: Indian manufacturers are increasingly competing on a global scale, offering high-quality products at competitive prices.