- By Ajeet Kumar
- Sat, 01 Feb 2025 05:49 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Indian government has removed import duties on some components key to producing mobile phones, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the annual budget on Saturday, in a boost for local production efforts and benefiting firms such as Apple and Xiaomi. India's electronics production has more than doubled in the last six years to USD 115 billion in 2024, with the country now becoming the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer.
Apple led the Indian smartphone market with a 23 per cent share in total revenue during 2024, followed by Samsung at 22 per cent, according to research firm Counterpoint. The list included components for mobile phone assembly such as printed circuit board assembly, parts of camera modules, and USB cables, which were taxed at 2.5 per cent earlier.
Trump tariff threats
The cuts will help India better cope with a potentially disruptive year of global trade due to US President Donald Trump's tariff threats. As Trump hopes for his "America First" policies to lure more manufacturing units back into the US, India is seeking to take advantage of US-China trade tensions to increase its own share of global supply chains. Internally, India's IT ministry had warned it risks losing out to China and Vietnam in the smartphone exports race if it were to not lower tariffs to lure global companies, Reuters reported last year.
Sitharaman, in her budget last year, had announced a review of the nation's customs duty rate structure to rationalise and simplify tariffs for ease of trade. The duty review also aimed at removing the so-called inverted duty structures or instances where tariffs on raw materials or intermediate goods are higher than the final products they are used to produce.
India Union Budegt 2025
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday presented the Budget 2025-26 in the Parliament with an aim at accelerating employment-led inclusive growth, propelled by investments in the agricultural and rural sector, MSMEs and exports while sticking to the fiscal consolidation path."This budget is dedicated to accelerating growth, driven by our aspirations for a 'Viksit Bharat.' Our economy remains the fastest growing among all major economies," the Finance Minister said on the floor of the Lok Sabha.
(With inputs from Agency)