Smartphones overtake oil, diamonds to become India’s top export in FY25

• NEW DELHI — Smartphones have officially become India’s top exported good in FY25, overtaking traditional heavyweights like petroleum products and cut diamonds, as per latest government figures.
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• Backed by government support and strong local manufacturing by tech giants like Apple and Samsung, smartphone exports rose 55 per cent to $24.14 billion in 2024-25, compared to $15.57 billion in the previous fiscal and $10.96 billion in 2022-23.
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• According to the data, the United States and Japan saw the biggest jump in shipments over the last three years.
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• Exports to the US grew nearly five times -- from $2.16 billion in FY23 to $10.6 billion in FY25.
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• Similarly, shipments to Japan shot up fourfold, from just $120 million to $520 million during the same period.
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• This sharp rise is largely attributed to the government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which has helped attract global investments, scale up domestic manufacturing, and integrate Indian production into global value chains.

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• As per Counterpoint Research’s report, Apple and Samsung together accounted for a massive 94 per cent of India’s smartphone exports in 2024.
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• Their continued investment in local manufacturing played a key role in making smartphones the country's top export item.
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• Made-in-India smartphone shipments grew 6 per cent year-on-year in 2024, the report added.
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• In FY25, India saw a boom in premium smartphone demand, especially for Apple.
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• According to an IDC report on Monday, Apple clocked the highest growth among all brands in the January-March 2025 quarter, shipping a record 3 million iPhones.
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• The iPhone 16 alone was the top-shipped model, accounting for 4 per cent of all smartphone sales in the quarter.
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• India's smartphone market is also shifting toward more expensive models. The average selling price (ASP) hit a record $274 in Q1 2025, while the premium segment ($600–$800) grew nearly 79 per cent.
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• Apple’s iPhone 13 and 16 dominated this space, pushing its market share even further.