By 2025, Noida is said to produce nearly 30 per cent of an estimated 100 crore mobile phones in the country as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Of the 100 crores handsets, nearly 60 crores are expected to be exported, according to the National Policy on Electronics 2019.
Nearly 80 mobile manufacturing factories are operating in Noida at present providing employment to about 50,000 people, according to the India Cellular and Electronics Association. These units produce mobiles and various other components like chargers, adapters, battery packs, etc.
During 2018-19, India produced 29 crore units, the majority of which were manufactured in Noida-Greater Noida region. Samsung, which opened its biggest mobile factory at Sector 81 Noida last year, aims at doubling its manufacturing capacity from 6.8 crores to 12 crores units a year by 2020.
Chinese manufacturer OPPO is manufacturing five crore smartphones every year at its Greater Noida factory. It expects to double the capacity to 10 crore units by next year, according to Sumit Walia, VP, Product and Marketing, OPPO India.
Another manufacturer, Vivo also introduced a new factory in Greater Noida in August this year as a part of its Rs 7,500 crore investment plan in India. The company will produce more than 3.3 crore devices every year, upping its capacity from the current 2.5 crore units.
“Noida/Greater Noida/YEW (Yamuna Expressway) is envisaged to be a global hub of mobile phone and component manufacturing,” Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) said. “We estimate a component and sub-assembly industry of at least $20-25 billion developing here in 4-5 years,” he added.
India currently has over 450 million smartphone users, and the number is expected to reach 859 million by 2022, according to a latest ASSOCHAM-PwC joint study. In 2014, India had just two mobile phone manufacturing units, but after the “Make in India” initiative, the country has 268 mobile handset and accessories manufacturing units. India is now the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world after China.
“Mobile handset manufacturing activity essentially moved to Noida/ Greater Noida region post-2014 primarily due to the region’s close proximity to the National Capital Region as well as the availability of space to move in and operationalise manufacturing activity at a quicker pace,” Mohindroo said.
Apple is also set to double the manufacturing of new iPhones in India, adding to the manufacturing sector of India. “Apple has started manufacturing phones in India, including components. They have started making iPhones in India and also components both for exports. But, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I want a robust presence of Apple in India. A super robust presence of Samsung in India. Apple is also on board as far as the India story is concerned,” Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said early in September.
According to ICEA, about 95 per cent of mobile phones sold in India are manufactured and produced domestically. “Our domestic market vis-a-vis domestic manufacturing is saturated, and we have set our sights on a target of Rs 7.7 lakh crore of exports by 2025,” Mohindroo said.
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