Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday, 15 July 2026 welcomed the Union Cabinet's approval of the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS), calling it 'a defining milestone in India's journey towards becoming a global electronics manufacturing powerhouse.' The scheme carries an outlay of ₹62,500 crore and is designed to strengthen domestic production, supply chains, and export competitiveness in the mobile phone sector.

Context

In his post on X, Rajnath Singh outlined the scheme's stated objectives: deepening domestic value addition, promoting Indian brands, accelerating design and research and development, generating quality employment, boosting exports, and enhancing India's position in global value chains. He concluded by thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision, signalling Cabinet-level endorsement of the initiative.

The MPMS represents a significant escalation in financial commitment compared to earlier electronics incentive programmes. Its ₹62,500 crore outlay is notably larger than the ₹38,325 crore allocated under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing approved in 2020, which had similarly targeted mobile phone and component production.

Policy Backdrop

India's push to build a domestic electronics manufacturing base has been a consistent policy thread since the mid-2010s, running through the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat programmes championed by PM Modi. The 2020 PLI scheme was a direct response to global supply-chain disruptions and a stated ambition to reduce dependence on a single source country for components — widely understood to mean China.

The new MPMS appears to build on that foundation, with an explicit focus on R&D and design — areas where India has historically lagged behind East Asian competitors — alongside the manufacturing incentives that characterised earlier schemes. The combination of brand promotion and supply-chain resilience signals a shift from pure assembly to deeper industrial integration.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of the scheme are expected to include domestic and foreign electronics manufacturers, mobile phone exporters, and component suppliers operating within India. Quality employment generation is listed as a core objective, suggesting the scheme will include conditions tied to job creation, a feature common to PLI-style programmes.

Indian consumer electronics brands stand to gain from the explicit 'promote Indian brands' objective, which could translate into preferential incentive tiers or procurement advantages. Export-oriented units may benefit from improved supply-chain depth, making India-assembled devices more competitive on global markets.

What's Next

Detailed scheme guidelines, eligibility criteria, and the selection process for beneficiary firms are yet to be released publicly. Analysts and industry bodies will watch closely for any linked changes to customs duty structures — a lever the government has used previously to make domestic production more attractive relative to imports.

The MPMS's success will ultimately be measured by its ability to move India up the electronics value chain, from final assembly toward component manufacturing and original design. Budget allocations in subsequent fiscal announcements and the pace of firm approvals will be early indicators of implementation momentum.