India’s Electronics Sector Adds 1.33 Million Jobs as PLI Drives Manufacturing and Exports

India’s electronics manufacturing sector has emerged as one of the most significant employment generators in recent years, supported by the production-linked incentive scheme that has reshaped smartphone manufacturing and export capacity, as per The Economic Times report. 

Job Creation and Workforce Profile 

Over the past 5 years, the electronics industry has generated more than 1.33 million jobs, according to the India Cellular and Electronics Association. Nearly 70% of these job additions involved women and first-time workers.  

Of the total employment created, around 400,000 jobs are estimated to be direct roles within manufacturing facilities, while approximately 930,000 indirect jobs have emerged across ancillary industries, logistics, and services.  

The job creation aligns with the government’s direct-to-indirect employment ratio of 1:3 envisaged at the launch of the scheme in October 2020. 

Wages, Production and Export Growth 

In FY25 alone, the mobile phone manufacturing ecosystem paid an estimated ₹25,000 crore in wages to blue-collar workers. Average monthly salaries stood at ₹18,000 for direct employees and ₹14,000 for indirect staff.  

During the same period, mobile phone production rose to more than ₹5.45 lakh crore in FY25 from ₹2.2 lakh crore in FY21, while exports increased nearly tenfold to over ₹2 lakh crore.  

The ICEA noted that smartphones have climbed to become India’s second-largest product category in FY25 from the 167th position in FY2015. 

Apple Ecosystem and Manufacturing Shift 

The largest contribution to job creation has come from the Apple manufacturing ecosystem, including contract manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron, and Tata Electronics.  

Following the introduction of the PLI scheme, Apple has shifted a significant portion of its manufacturing from China to India, with more than 20% of iPhones now produced domestically.  

Foxconn has established large manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, including a new iPhone factory near Bengaluru where nearly 30,000 workers were hired, about 80% of them women, as reported on December 22. 

Read More: Upcoming IPO: Defence Electronics Firm Tonbo Imaging Files Draft Papers to Raise Funds! 

Conclusion 

With over 1.33 million jobs created, rising wages, sharp growth in production and exports, and increasing participation of women, the electronics sector has become a cornerstone of India’s manufacturing expansion driven by the PLI framework. 

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