In a major push toward technological sovereignty and domestic brand adoption, the government is finalizing a comprehensive roadmap to revive and scale homegrown smartphone brands, with official guidelines expected to be rolled out within a month, according to sources familiar with the matter. Under the framework, anchored by the newly notified Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS), the Centre envisions end-to-end, domestically designed and manufactured smartphones dominating the Indian market within the next two years.
Leveraging the Component Boom
The aggressive push comes on the back of rapid expansion in India's upstream electronics supply chain. Official sources indicated that the government is seeking to capitalize on the recent success of its electronics component ecosystem to build out the full smartphone value chain-spanning industrial product design, software integration, research and development, and advanced manufacturing.
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India's component base has deepened substantially over the past few years, with an estimated 400 to 500 component manufacturers establishing operations across the country. Demonstrating this growing manufacturing muscle, Indian facilities have already exported approximately Rs 35,000 crore worth of smartphone parts and sub-assemblies to China, marking a significant structural shift in regional electronics trade flows.
'Super' Response to MPMS
The upcoming policy roadmap is expected to align closely with the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS), which features a dedicated target segment tailored for Indian-owned brands. The scheme offers performance-linked incentives as well as additional support for domestic sourcing and indigenous intellectual property (IP) creation. According to sources, the MPMS has witnessed "super" interest from domestic players, contract manufacturers, and design houses looking to scale operations."The idea is not merely assembly; it is deep-rooted value addition," a senior official noted. "With local component sourcing already hitting critical mass, the next logical milestone is ensuring Indian brands own the IP, design the handsets, and recapture sizable domestic market share."The formal blueprint, which will spell out both fiscal incentives and non-fiscal facilitation measures for domestic OEMs, will be released before the end of the month.
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