India emerges as global iPhone export hub as shipments hit record ₹2 trillion in FY26

India’s iPhone exports surged to a record ₹2 trillion in FY26, driven by the PLI scheme, making Apple the country’s top branded export contributor and reinforcing India’s growing role in global electronics manufacturing.

India’s smartphone manufacturing story reached a new milestone in FY26, with iPhone exports touching an all-time high of ₹2 trillion during the final year of the government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing. According to industry data cited in a Business Insider report, this marks one of the strongest export performances in India’s recent manufacturing history.

iPhone dominates India’s export basket

Total smartphone exports from India stood at approximately ₹2.6 trillion in FY26 (April–February), with iPhones alone contributing more than 75% of the overall value. This made Apple the largest branded export contributor across all product categories classified under the Harmonised System (HS) trade framework, which tracks over 5,000 global goods categories. Within the broader HS classification, iPhones ranked as India’s second-largest export item after refined automotive diesel fuel, while diamonds and medicines followed in third and fourth positions respectively.

PLI push transforms manufacturing ecosystem

The sharp rise in exports highlights the impact of the PLI scheme, which has reshaped India’s electronics manufacturing base over the past few years. Apple’s ecosystem in India has expanded rapidly, supported by key manufacturing partners such as Tata Electronics and Foxconn. Export values have grown consistently—from ₹9,351 crore in FY22 to over ₹1.5 trillion in FY25—before peaking in FY26.

Apple’s production network in India now involves more than 40 domestic suppliers along with global partners from Japan and Taiwan. The company has also built a largely non-Chinese supply chain within the country, aligning with broader diversification strategies in global electronics manufacturing.

Jobs, scale and global positioning

Manufacturing expansion has also led to significant employment generation. Large-scale facilities operated by Tata and Foxconn now employ tens of thousands of workers, with women forming a majority of the workforce in several plants. Across Apple’s supplier ecosystem in India, total employment is estimated at around 250,000 people, underscoring the sector’s growing economic footprint.

With record exports and expanding production capacity, India is increasingly positioning itself as a critical global hub in smartphone manufacturing and high-value electronics exports.