With India's electronic institutional sector incentive program introduced in 2020 set to end on the 31st of this month, the government is reportedly planning a new program to continue supporting local smartphone production.
According to Reuters on the 13th (local time), the Indian government is planning a new incentive program for the electronic institutional sector to coincide with the end of the existing program. Sources said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has been in talks with the industry regarding the new program. However, details such as the size of incentives under the new program have not been decided.
The current Indian electronic institutional sector incentive program includes $21 billion (about 31.2 trillion won) in subsidies for 14 institutional sectors including electronics, pharmaceuticals, and solar power as part of the government's manufacturing push. Companies that have produced smartphones in India, including Samsung Electronics and Apple, have benefited from the program.
While the existing program focused on local smartphone production, the new program is reportedly aimed at boosting smartphone exports and expanding the use of components produced in India.
Local production of smartphones is a core policy of Prime Minister Modi. The Modi administration aims to increase production of electronic devices including smartphones to $500 billion (about 748.9 trillion won) by the 2029–2030 fiscal year (ending in late Mar. 2030).