Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday, 19 June 2026 shared a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, delivered at a community programme in Paris, France, in which the Prime Minister declared that India is now the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer and the fastest-growing major economy globally.

Context

Speaking to the Indian diaspora in Paris, PM Modi said — 'Bharat aaj duniya ka doosra sabse bada mobile phone manufacturer hai, aur duniya ki fastest-growing major economy bhi' — ('India today is the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer, and also the world's fastest-growing major economy'). The remarks were delivered at a community outreach event, a standard feature of prime ministerial visits abroad where India's economic achievements are highlighted to overseas Indians.

Vaishnaw, who holds the portfolio of Electronics and Information Technology in addition to Railways and Information and Broadcasting, amplified the statement on X, underscoring its relevance to the digital manufacturing agenda he oversees.

Policy Backdrop

India's rise as a mobile phone manufacturing hub is closely linked to two flagship policy interventions. The Make in India initiative, launched in September 2014, set the strategic direction of reducing import dependence and building domestic production capacity across sectors including electronics.

The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing, approved in 2020, provided the financial architecture that drew major handset brands and component suppliers to establish or expand assembly operations within India. Government data released around 2021 indicated India had surpassed the United States to become the second-largest mobile phone producer by volume — a milestone that official messaging has since consistently cited.

Stakeholders and Impact

The mobile manufacturing sector's growth has had direct consequences for electronics manufacturers, both domestic and multinational, who have scaled up assembly lines and begun exporting handsets from Indian facilities. The shift from near-total import dependence to significant domestic value addition represents a structural change in India's electronics trade balance.

For the Indian diaspora audiences at events such as the Paris community programme, such data points serve as markers of national economic progress. Diaspora events abroad have become a consistent platform for successive governments to present manufacturing and macroeconomic milestones in a diplomatic context, pairing domestic policy achievements with bilateral engagement.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the next set of quarterly mobile production and export figures from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which will indicate whether the sector's growth trajectory is holding. Any follow-up announcements emerging from scheduled India-France bilateral mechanisms during the Prime Minister's visit will also be closely watched by industry and policy observers.

India's positioning as the world's second-largest mobile phone producer, if sustained and deepened through further value addition beyond assembly, could significantly reshape the country's role in global electronics supply chains over the coming decade.