Government received ₹3.25 lakh crore as tax under Mobile PLI scheme

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday that even though the Government of India provided ₹19,000 crore under the mobile production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, a total of ₹3.25 lakh crore has been collected as tax from the mobile industry. These figures demonstrate the country's strong growth and employment generation in electronics manufacturing, which has reduced the country's imports and increased exports.

According to a report by Amar Ujala, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared these figures on the 'X' platform to reply to media critics who raised questions on government efforts to promote electronics manufacturing. Vaishnaw clarified that ₹19,000 crore of incentive was given by the government under the scheme, in return for which ₹25,000 crore was received as direct tax and ₹3 lakh crore as Goods and Services Tax (GST) from the beneficiaries.

In the field of employment too, this industry has achieved major success. Vaishnaw stated that 25 lakh people are currently employed in the electronics manufacturing sector, with 12 lakh people getting employment in the mobile manufacturing sector alone. Addressing the critics, he said, "25 lakh people are employed in electronics manufacturing; 12 lakh people get employment in mobile manufacturing alone. Try harder!!"

This statement came in response to a media opinion video, which pointed out shortcomings in India's efforts to promote electronics manufacturing through subsidies, comparing it with the ecosystem existing in countries like China. That video claimed that India has to spend more for importing components than the benefits generated from the export of finished mobile phones made with subsidy support.

According to official figures shared by the government in the month of March, India exported mobile phones worth ₹2 lakh crore in the financial year 2025. The import of mobile phones has also now become almost negligible. In the year 2024-25, imports remained at only 0.02 percent of domestic demand, whereas 10 years ago this figure was 75 percent. These figures show that mobile production and export in the country have increased significantly.

Changes that have taken place in manufacturing sectors are also startling. In 2014-15, the production of electronic goods was approximately ₹1.9 lakh crore, which reached approximately ₹11.3 lakh crore with a six-fold growth in 2024-25. During this same period, mobile phone production increased from approximately ₹0.18 lakh crore to reach approximately ₹5.5 lakh crore. Similarly, the export of electronic goods has also increased eight times from ₹0.38 lakh crore 10 years ago to approximately ₹3.3 lakh crore in 2024-25.

To give further impetus to manufacturing, the government has now launched the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS). A total incentive of ₹62,500 crore will be provided under this scheme to promote domestic manufacturing of devices. According to a report by The Times of India, this scheme will run from the financial year 2026-27 to the financial year 2030-31. The main objective of this scheme is to increase domestic sourcing and strengthen the global supply chain by promoting Indian mobile brands.

Under this new scheme, the target is to develop Indian smartphones that are indigenously designed and manufactured. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has set a deadline of October 2028 to fulfill the target of Indian smartphone brands.