India cuts import duties on phone parts to boost electronics manufacturing

India has scrapped import duties on selected parts used in mobile phones and other electronics, removing 7.5% and 5% levies in a move designed to lower costs for manufacturers such as Apple and Xiaomi and deepen domestic production. The exemption will run until March 31, 2029, giving companies a clearer runway to plan assembly, sourcing and new investment in India.

The cut reaches beyond handset assembly. It covers key parts for wireless charging modules, display assemblies used in medical devices and automobiles, and lithium-ion cells. That makes the measure an industrial-policy step, not a routine customs adjustment: New Delhi is trying to move more of the value chain into India, from final assembly toward components, batteries and higher-value manufacturing.

Manoj Mishra of Grant Thornton Bharat said the change should improve cost competitiveness, domestic value addition and localization of high-value smartphone and electronics manufacturing. He added that the lithium-ion cell exemption could encourage investment in domestic battery production for consumer electronics and electric mobility. MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan said the measure would help deepen the value chain and stimulate the domestic component industry.

The policy lands after a sharp expansion in India’s electronics base. Official government data released in 2025 showed mobile phone production rising from 18,000 crore in 2014-15 to 5.45 lakh crore in 2024-25, a 28-fold increase. India is now the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer, with more than 300 manufacturing facilities, up from just two in 2014. Mobile phone exports climbed from 1,500 crore to 2 lakh crore over the same period, while electronics production rose from 1.9 lakh crore to 11.3 lakh crore.

That momentum feeds into a larger target set out in a July 18, 2024 NITI Aayog-linked report and government release: $500 billion in electronics manufacturing by fiscal 2030, split between $350 billion in finished goods and $150 billion in components. The pathway assumes 20% to 22% annual growth, a pace that would require more than simple assembly-line expansion. Reuters said smartphone production in India has already grown 28-fold over the past decade to about $57 billion in 2024/25, underscoring how quickly the country has become a major production base for global brands. The new duty relief is meant to push more of that growth inward, so India captures more of the margins, not just the volume.