New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS): India’s mobile phone manufacturing in value has risen to Rs 4.1 lakh crore in India in the last 10 years due to strategic government policy measures like product-linked initiative (PLI) and phased-manufacturing programme (PMP) schemes, a report showed on Wednesday.

The electronics sector experienced rapid growth and local production nearly doubled from $48 billion in FY17 to $101 billion in FY23 and is around $115 billion in the current fiscal to date -- driven primarily by mobile phones which now constitute more than 43 per cent of total electronics production.

As the country becomes the second largest mobile manufacturer in the world, global manufacturing companies like Samsung, Apple and Google are making their latest generation smartphones in India.

The report by Broadband India Forum (BIF), prepared by BIF’s Koan Advisory, analysed the journey through an empirical study that investigates issues such as the impact of tariff and customs rates, India’s global value chains (GVC) insertion, challenges related to the ease of doing business (EoDB), women workforce participation opportunities and ways of reducing the gender gap and increasing the gender diversity.

TV Ramachandran, President, BIF said that the ‘Make in India’ initiative has been instrumental in transforming the country into a global hub for mobile device manufacturing.

“Through strategic policies and production linked incentives, the government has attracted major global players and encouraged domestic manufacturers to set up and enhance production facilities within India,” he added.

As a result, the country has witnessed a significant surge in mobile phone production, reducing gradual dependence on imports and creating thousands of jobs in the manufacturing sector.

According to S Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, the country has emerged as the world's second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones.

“The government's priority has always been to enable PLI beneficiaries to maximise their benefits, meet targets, and ultimately enhance India's business environment,” Krishnan noted.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said recently that with a three-fold increase in domestic production and an almost 100-fold jump in exports of mobile phones over the last six years, the mobile phone industry has matured in the country.