The iPhone-driven electronics success story in India

Electronics manufacturing by foreign companies is a success story for Narendra Modi's government. Apple reportedly assembled $14 billion of iPhones in India for export during its last fiscal year, doubling its local production.

As our first chart shows, electronics exports really began taking off in 2021, far outpacing exports in any other category of manufactured goods. Over the past decade, Indian electronics exports are up 500%.

Our subsequent charts examine this boom from various angles. It's important to note that so far, electronics exports account for a very small percentage of GDP – less than 1%, in fact. But that proportion has been steadily rising.

As our fourth chart indicates, headlines about the iPhone are indicative of the importance of telecommunications devices within the electronics universe: when compared to other products, such as computer hardware, this sub-sector accounts for the lion's share.

Our final chart, however, reflects the infancy of this sector in India and the country's relatively low position in the global value chain so far. Trade deficits have remained roughly unchanged, as the rise in exports was offset by imports of intermediate goods – i.e. the components that go into products like iPhones.

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