Apple iPhone Exports from India Cross $50 Billion Under PLI

India’s electronics manufacturing landscape is undergoing a decisive structural shift, led by Apple’s expanding production and export base under the government’s smartphone production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

According to sources, iPhone exports from India have crossed a record $50 billion by December 2025, marking one of the most significant milestones in the country’s manufacturing-led export growth story.

With three months still remaining in Apple’s five-year PLI eligibility window, exports are expected to climb further. Data accessed by the Economic Times shows that iPhone shipments in the first nine months of FY26 alone reached nearly $16 billion, pushing cumulative exports beyond the $50-billion mark. In comparison, Samsung exported devices worth close to $17 billion during its entire five-year PLI tenure from FY21 to FY25.

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Apple’s manufacturing ecosystem in India currently spans five iPhone assembly plants—three operated by Tata Group entities and two by Foxconn—supported by around 45 supplier companies, many of them MSMEs. Driven largely by iPhone shipments, smartphones have become India’s single largest export category in FY25, contributing nearly 75% of total smartphone exports, a dramatic rise from 2015.

While the smartphone PLI scheme is set to conclude in March next year, policymakers are evaluating a new incentive framework to sustain momentum, acknowledging ongoing cost disadvantages versus China and Vietnam.

Importantly, India is now the only country outside China manufacturing iPhones at scale, and has begun exporting electronic components to China and Vietnam for Apple products—signalling a notable reversal in global supply chain dynamics.