Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme: ₹62,500 crore push to deepen India's component ecosystem
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
India's ₹62,500 crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) has drawn strong backing from industry leaders, who say the newly approved programme will deepen domestic value addition, strengthen the supply chain, and accelerate the development of a robust component ecosystem. The endorsements came on Friday, 21 August, as the scheme entered public discourse following its Central government approval.
Industry Welcome and Policy Continuity
Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), called the scheme a natural progression of India's mobile manufacturing journey. 'We welcome the Central government's launch of the Rs 62,500 crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS). The scheme builds on the strong foundation of PLI for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing and marks the next phase of India's mobile manufacturing journey,' Mohindroo said.
He emphasised that successive policy frameworks — from production-linked incentives to the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) — have provided industry the confidence to make long-term investments and build deep manufacturing capabilities in India. 'This creates continuity of policy and strengthens predictability,' he added.
What the Scheme Targets
According to the ICEA statement, the MPMS is designed to deepen domestic sourcing of key components, support Indian brands, and boost investment in design and R&D. The scheme also creates what the industry body described as a 'natural aggregator framework' for the ECMS — aligning demand aggregation, scale efficiencies, and ecosystem development across critical components.
'This convergence will be instrumental in accelerating component manufacturing in India and improving global competitiveness,' the ICEA statement said.
From Assembly to High-Value Manufacturing
Ashok Gupta, Executive Chairman of Optiemus Infracom Ltd, said the scheme provides a 'strong and sustained policy framework' to shift India's electronics sector from scale-driven assembly towards deeper, high-value manufacturing. 'The scheme would create a powerful demand-supply ecosystem by aligning with ECMS and strengthening domestic sourcing. Its focus on Indian brands, design and R&D would give a significant boost to local champions, enabling them to scale, innovate and compete globally,' Gupta said.
India's Electronics Surge: The Numbers
The scheme arrives at a moment of significant momentum in India's electronics sector. Domestic electronics production rose from ₹11.32 lakh crore in FY25 to ₹13.11 lakh crore in FY26, marking a 15.8% year-on-year increase. Mobile phone exports have skyrocketed, reaching ₹2.59 lakh crore — cementing India's status as a major global smartphone exporter.
What Comes Next
Industry bodies see the MPMS as the bridge between India's current export success and its longer-term ambition of becoming a full-stack electronics manufacturing hub. The focus now shifts to implementation: whether the scheme's domestic sourcing mandates and R&D incentives translate into a genuine component ecosystem, or remain aspirational targets. With global supply chains in flux and China-plus-one strategies accelerating, the window for India to move up the value chain is arguably wider now than at any point in the past decade.