The success of smartphone exports has paved the way for a new success story in telecom equipment manufacturing and exports. In the financial year 2024, telecom equipment production surpassed Rs 45,000 crore, with exports reaching around Rs 10,500 crore, largely supported by the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme of the Centre.
According to government data shared with ET, the PLI scheme has led to the creation of over 19,500 direct jobs. Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw commented, “Telecom equipment manufacturing was a dream for our country and the Make-in-India and PLI programme have really succeeded.”
India, which used to import telecom gear for many years, has now transitioned to manufacturing domestically, producing equipment valued at over Rs 45,000 crore. This includes radios, routers, and network equipment. Companies are also permitted to avail benefits for producing 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) equipment, with major telecom companies like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel heavily investing in FWA to capitalize on 5G.
Global firms contributed Rs 36,537.68 crore out of the total sales, while domestic firms accounted for Rs 6,768.74 crore and MSMEs for Rs 2,682.12 crore. Domestic companies generated 14,525 jobs, with MSMEs creating 2,984 jobs and global firms contributing 2,041 jobs.
Indian-manufactured telecom equipment is being exported to North America and Europe, with top telecom companies worldwide as customers. The minister highlighted, “Lots of our Indian manufacturers are getting design inputs into the products. Products are designed in India, made in India and then exported, and the quality of products is good.”
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) introduced the PLI scheme for telecom and networking products in February 2021 with a budget of Rs 12,195 crore spread over five years. The scheme was later modified in April 2022 to support manufacturing based on design, with an extra incentive rate of 1%.
42 companies, including 28 MSMEs, were selected for the updated program, pledging to invest Rs 4,115 crore and generate additional sales of Rs 2.45 lakh crore, creating over 44,000 additional jobs. Well-known companies participating in the telecom PLI scheme include Samsung, Dixon Technologies, HFCL, Jabil, Flextronics, Sanmina, Rising Star, Nokia, and Tejas.
The Centre’s tightened rules around custom duty payments by gear importers have also contributed to boosting equipment manufacturing, particularly routers, modems, and set-top boxes.
