Plugging into global value chains key to next phase of PLI success: CEA Nageswaran
“In the process of increasing domestic production, there also needs to be a complementary goal of incorporating ourselves into the global value chain, which is equally important,” Nageswaran told CNBC-TV18’s Latha Venkatesh. “The success of PLI should encourage us from indigenization to strategic resilience and then to becoming strategically indispensable.”
CEA pointed to recent global trade dynamics to underline this claim. During the Trump administration’s tariff hikes, countries deeply embedded in U.S. supply chains maintained influence and negotiating space, while those less integrated faced sharper vulnerabilities.
Countries such as Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam have signed agreements fixing tariff rates, helping them avoid higher increases; This demonstrated how supply chain compliance can translate into strategic bargaining power. Within the scope of these agreements, the USA imposed a reciprocal customs duty of 19 percent on imports from Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand, and 20 percent on imports from Vietnam.
Among the various PLI programs, the smartphone manufacturing plan emerged as the clearest success story. There was an increase in electronics exports as domestic contract manufacturers such as Apple, Samsung and Dixon Technologies increased production for global markets. Apple has made India the second largest base for iPhone production after China; More than a fifth of global iPhone shipments now come from India.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, electronics is currently the fastest growing segment among India’s top 30 export categories. Mobile phones have moved from being heavily dependent on imports to a net export category; This is a rare transition among emerging economies. This momentum began with the Phased Manufacturing Program in 2017 and accelerated with the launch of the 2020 PLI. Mobile phone exports have increased 127 times in the last decade, from 1,500 billion Indian rupees to 2 lakh billion in FY25. Apple alone has exported iPhones worth ₹1.1 lakh crore in 2024, registering 42% annual growth. In the first five months of FY26, smartphone exports crossed ₹1 lakh crore, up 55% year-on-year. Production capacity continues to expand. Foxconn plans to double iPhone production in India to around 25-30 million units by the end of 2025; Samsung’s Noida factory contributed to India’s mobile phone exports reaching a record level of US$ 20.4 billion in 2024, an increase of 44% compared to 2023.
India’s gains are also driven by the global ‘China+1’ diversification trend. According to ITC data, in the 2023-24 period, China’s mobile phone exports decreased by $3.8 billion, Vietnam’s by $5.6 billion, while India’s increased by $4.5 billion; This covers almost half of the change in orders.
Nageswaran said the next phase of the policy should focus on embedding India more deeply in global supply networks. “This is the lesson we should learn from PLI’s successes,” he said.
