India is shifting its smartphone industry focus from final assembly to manufacturing critical components and materials domestically, enhancing its supply chain resilience and value addition under the Make in India programme.
India is pushing further into smartphone manufacturing, with the focus now shifting from final assembly to the materials and parts that sit deeper inside the device. Union electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the next phase of growth will cover not only lithium-ion battery cells, but also inputs used to make them, alongside a wider range of handset components. According to Business Today, he framed the shift as a move towards greater domestic value addition under the Make in India programme.
Among the materials Vaishnaw highlighted was synthetic graphite, which is used in the anode of a lithium-ion battery. He said this input will now be made in India, alongside specialised additives for battery electrolytes and acetylene black, a material that improves electrical conductivity inside the cell. As Nation Press noted, synthetic graphite is also strategically important because it reduces reliance on imports, particularly for battery supply chains linked to electric vehicles as well as consumer electronics.
The minister said the localisation drive is not limited to batteries. According to Business Today, India is also expanding production of cameras, displays, speakers, coils, enclosures, printed circuit boards and connectors, all of which sit within the broader electronics supply chain. That matters because PCBs are central to how smartphones route power and signals across the device, while displays and camera modules remain among the most valuable assemblies in a handset.
The backdrop is an industry that has already scaled rapidly. Financial Express reported that India’s electronics production has more than doubled in the past five years, while exports have risen sharply, with smartphones now the country’s single largest exported product. At the same time, companies are increasingly pairing manufacturing with design and research. Business Standard reported that Nothing’s CMF is pursuing a model that combines Indian ownership, manufacturing and R&D, while TechCrunch said India has also approved a joint venture between Vivo and Dixon Technologies, underlining how the market is moving beyond simple assembly. Vaishnaw’s message was that the next stage is to make still more of the value chain at home.
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