Economic Survey 2023: Electronics exports surge to record Rs 1.1 lakh crore in Apr-Nov FY23

The union government’s thrust on turning India into an electronics hub seems to be bearing fruit. Laid down in early-2015, the country’s flagship ‘Make in India’ mission has resulted in exports growing to unprecedented levels in FY2023.

As per the Economic Survey 2022-23, released today, electronic exports during the first 8 months of the current financial year touched record highs. During April-November FY2023 period, India exported over Rs 1.13 lakh crore (or $ 13.8 billion) worth of electronics goods - 55 per cent higher than the same period previous year. In April-November FY2022, India had exported Rs 73,000 crore ($ 8.9 billion) worth of electronics goods.

The recent surge in electronic exports is also visible from the recently released data. The current fiscal’s exports were 87 per cent higher than the pre-COVID levels. During the first 8 months of FY2020, India’s electronic exports stood at less than Rs 60,000 crore. According to the survey, the government’s recent measures, introduced after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the economy, like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, boosted India’s fortunes in the exports front.

The major drivers of the recent growth in this industry are mobile phones, consumer electronics, and industrial electronics. In the mobile phone segment, India has become the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer globally, with the production of handsets going up from 6 crore units in FY2015 to 31 crore units in FY2022. “These numbers are expected to improve as more domestic and global players set up and expand their bases in India. Two major global and domestic players in electronic manufacturing services have already embraced the PLI scheme. Participation in the PLI scheme will help many more domestic players to attain economies of scale in production through localising. Hence, this will further enhance export competitiveness and increase India’s participation in the global value chain,” the Economic Survey noted.

According to it, electronics, supported by continuously improving communication services, will significantly enhance productivity, efficient service delivery, and social transformation. The domestic electronics industry, as of FY2020, is valued at Rs 967,600 crore (US$118 billion). While, India aims to reach Rs 24.6 lakh crore ($300 billion) worth of electronics manufacturing and Rs 9.84 lakh crore ($ 120 billion) in exports by FY2026, supported by the vision of a $1 trillion digital economy by 2025. 

“Improvement in manufacturing and export over the past five years ensures that India is on the right trajectory to achieve this target. Electronic goods were among the top five commodity groups exhibiting positive export growth in November 2022, with the exports in this segment growing year-on-year by 55.1 per cent,” it said.
 

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