India’s mobile imports decreased 33 percent year-on-year in FY22, according to a research report by credit rating company Crisil. Dependency on China reduced to 60 percent from 64 percent in FY21 and is expected to fall more in the medium-term. Crisil estimates that Indian consumption will reach ₹3.5 lakh crore to ₹4 lakh crore in 2024, as the mobile life cycle, reduces and financing options become more charged.
With a rise in production, the import of electronic components essential for mobile assembling or manufacturing also Increased by 27 percent yearonyear. The Crisil report noted that with the domestic output increasing, India has become largely self sufficient on the consumption front, even as mobile consumption increased by 15-20 percent during FY22.
Due to the support of the PLI scheme, the export of mobile phones increased by 56 percent year-on-year and is expected to touch 1lakh crore to 1.2 lakh crore over fiscal 2023 and 2024. However, despite of the significant gains in exports, Crisil notes that India’s share in global exports continues to be micro, with China and Vietnam continuing to meet the bulk of global demand.
Moreover, with 5G deployment just on the horizon, the share of 5G smartphones in India continues to be low due to the high price of the handset, according to the report. Crisil noted that the sale of 5G smartphones constituted only 15-20% of the overall handset sales in fiscal 2022. However, they predict that sales will pick up substantially in late 2023 due to the festive season.
