Twelve years ago this week, a government initiative launched with a simple, almost impossible-sounding goal: turn India into a manufacturing powerhouse. On September 25, the exact anniversary, the IT Minister dropped a thread that quietly confirmed something huge.
Your next phone might be more Indian-made than you ever realized. Here’s what actually changed, and why the timing isn’t a coincidence.
Core Highlights
- India’s Make in India initiative turned exactly 12 years old on September 25, 2026.
- IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw marked the anniversary by announcing a shift from phone assembly to component manufacturing.
- India now produces roughly 330 million phone units annually, making it the world’s second-largest phone manufacturer.
- A striking 99.2% of phones sold in India are now manufactured locally, up from just 26% a decade ago.
- A new ₹62,500 crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) will run from FY2026-27 through FY2030-31.
- India has already made history by producing camera modules without any foreign technology partner.
- The related Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme has already drawn investment applications worth nearly double its original target.
1. The Milestone Nobody Saw Coming This Fast.
Government schemes rarely hit their targets ahead of schedule. However, this one genuinely has. A decade ago, only 26% of phones sold in India were made domestically. Today, that number sits at 99.2%.
That kind of shift doesn’t happen by accident. It reflects over a decade of policy, incentives, and manufacturing investment finally compounding into something real. As Minister Vaishnaw put it in his announcement, the next phase isn’t about assembling anymore. It’s about going deeper.
2. From Screwdriver Assembly to Actually Building the Guts.
Here’s the distinction that matters most. For years, “Made in India” phones often meant components arrived from elsewhere and got assembled domestically, sometimes dismissively called “screwdriver technology.” That era is officially ending.
According to the minister, India is now manufacturing the actual internals: camera modules, display screens, speakers, printed circuit boards, connectors, and battery components. In other words, the parts that used to arrive in shipping containers from overseas are increasingly being built on Indian soil instead.
3. The Numbers That Prove This Isn’t Just Talk.
Skepticism around government manufacturing announcements is fair, so the numbers here matter. The Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme originally targeted ₹59,350 crore in investment. Instead, it drew applications worth ₹1.15 lakh crore, nearly double the goal.
Projected production under the scheme has also jumped, from a ₹4.56 lakh crore target to an expected ₹10.34 lakh crore. Meanwhile, expected job creation rose from roughly 91,600 positions to almost 1.42 lakh. These aren’t small rounding differences. They suggest genuine industry confidence, not just announcement-day optimism.
4. Your Camera Might Already Be Indian-Made.
This detail is easy to miss, but it’s genuinely significant. India has now produced camera modules domestically without relying on a foreign technology partner, a first for the country’s electronics industry. These modules aren’t limited to phones either. They’re also used in tablets, laptops, and CCTV systems.
Separately, companies like Dixon Technologies are aggressively scaling up. The company is expanding its camera module capacity by 2.6 times, targeting 190 million units over the next year and a half, while also entering the mobile display business for the first time.
5. The Battery Secret Hiding Inside Your Phone.
Batteries turned out to be one of the more surprising parts of this story. According to Vaishnaw, India is now manufacturing lithium-ion battery cells domestically and is moving further down the battery value chain into the materials that make those cells work.
That includes specialized electrolyte additives that improve battery performance and longevity, along with acetylene black, a material that boosts electrical conductivity inside the cell. As the minister described it, these are small materials doing a genuinely important job.
6. What This Actually Means for Your Next Phone?
None of this changes what you’ll see on a spec sheet tomorrow. However, it does suggest something meaningful about where the phone industry in India is heading over the next few years.
More domestic component manufacturing generally means shorter supply chains, potentially better resilience against the kind of global shortages we’ve covered recently, and a stronger long-term case for “Made in India” phones competing on genuine substance, not just assembly-line labor. Whether that translates into cheaper phones for consumers remains an open question, but the manufacturing foundation is clearly shifting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is India’s Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS)?
The MPMS is a ₹62,500 crore government scheme running from FY2026-27 to FY2030-31, designed to incentivize deeper domestic manufacturing of phone components, not just final assembly.
How much of India’s phones are actually made domestically?
As of the most recent government figures, 99.2% of phones sold in India are manufactured locally, up from just 26% a decade earlier.
Does this mean phones will get cheaper in India?
Not necessarily in the short term. The announcement focuses on manufacturing capability and supply chain depth rather than an immediate pricing commitment, though stronger domestic supply chains could help buffer against future global shortages.
Has India ever made phone camera modules without foreign help before?
No. This marks the first time India has produced camera modules domestically without support from a foreign technology partner, according to the Ministry of Electronics and IT.
If you’re curious how global supply issues are already affecting phone prices, you might also want to read our recent breakdown of the ongoing RAM shortage driving smartphone costs higher worldwide.
Sources: Reporting based on Business Today, The Hans India, Business Standard, and official statements from India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.