Firstcall

With domestic manufacturing gaining momentum, exports of mobile phones jumped over threefolds to Rs 4,300 crore during the April-june 2021 quarter. The mobile phones exports had stood at around Rs 1,300 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a grinding halt. I believe the mobile handset manufacturing industry is continuing its growth juggernaut and its historic journey to meet its objective of becoming the world’s number one manufacturing destination in sync with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.

Despite the second COVID-19 wave, the industry has made significant progress in manufacturing and exports, backed by the government’s prudent policy to continue manufacturing and the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. The electronic goods’ exports have also shown a tremendous rise of 100 per cent year-on-year during the first quarter of the current financial year, crossing the Rs 20,000-crore-mark. There is a sharp decline in the imports of mobile phones to a minuscule Rs 600 crore during the first quarter of 2021-22, which was Rs 3,100 crore for the similar period in 2020-21. This is at an all-time low since 2014-15.

Defying all odds, the industry is showing impressive growth during these difficult times, and is on a path of regaining the momentum as envisaged in the National Policy on Electronics 2019. Imports in laptops and tablet category have shown more than 50 per cent increase in the first quarter, from over Rs 6,000 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 10,000 crore in 2021-22. There is a need to replicate the success of mobile phone manufacturing in India to ‘IT hardware’ (desktops, laptops and tablets). With regard to the same, the industry is working with the government to create suitable policy intervention to support and create an ecosystem to build large-scale manufacturing of these products in India, and cater to at least 25 per cent of the global requirement.

Coming to the magazine, while smartphones are the dominating device category for calling and it will remain so for at least a decade, smartwatch is fast emerging as a tool to bring instrumental changes in our lifestyle besides being a gadget to track our daily activities. Thanks to the Bluetooth Calling feature and esim technology, there’s no need to constantly carry your phone or plug in an earbud for speaking with someone, as these smartwatches are equipped with in-built microphones and speakers. We’ve discussed the same in our Cover Story (Are Smartwatches the Future of Calling). In yet another important story, we’ve dwelled upon what led to the existential threat to Vodafone Idea in India and what lies ahead for the telecom operator.

Happy Reading and Stay Safe!