India’s iPhone Exports Reach New Heights in FY26

India’s iPhone exports have surged to a record Rs 2 trillion during the final year of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing, as reported by Business Insider.

This achievement has positioned the Apple brand as the largest single branded export in India across all major export categories, based on the Harmonised System (HS) code framework, which encompasses over 5,000 product types involved in global trade.

Overview of India’s Smartphone Exports

India’s total smartphone exports reached approximately Rs 2.6 trillion ($29.4 billion) in FY26.

In this context, the iPhone represented more than 75 per cent of that total, making it the second-largest export category within the HS code classification for the first 11 months of FY26. Automotive diesel fuel trailed significantly with $14.53 billion, pending one month of additional data.

Diamonds were positioned third, valued at $11.23 billion, followed by medicines at $9.98 billion. Motor gasoline rounded out the top five at $8.5 billion.

Apple’s Role in India’s Manufacturing Landscape

Through this journey, Apple has emerged as a symbol of India’s manufacturing potential and has become a significant success story for the government’s “Make in India” initiative. Apple’s suppliers have trained employees via in-house programmes, with a supply chain largely developed around more than 40 local businesses, alongside non-Chinese suppliers, including Japan’s TDK Corporation and several Taiwanese joint ventures. Additionally, Apple has notably excluded Chinese firms from its Indian supply chain.

Growth of iPhone Exports Over Recent Years

In FY22, iPhone exports stood at ₹9,351.6 crore, increasing to ₹44,269.5 crore in FY23. As the PLI scheme progressed, Apple’s manufacturing partners like Tata Electronics and Foxconn boosted exports to ₹85,013.5 crore in FY24, climbing to ₹1.5 trillion in FY25.

In the final year of the PLI initiative, the first 11 months saw a 33 per cent increase in iPhone exports, despite the ongoing geopolitical tensions and disruptions due to tariffs affecting global trade.

Contribution of Tata and Foxconn

By FY26, Tata and Foxconn were pivotal in contributing nearly equally to iPhone exports. The two companies managed some of India’s largest manufacturing sites, with the smaller facility employing over 19,000 workers and the larger one more than 42,000. Notably, more than 70 per cent of the workforce were women. Across Apple’s extensive ecosystem, which includes over 40 component suppliers, total employment escalated to approximately 250,000.