As India prepares for the Union Budget 2026, the mobile manufacturing sector is urging the government to build on the gains of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and accelerate India’s transition into a global technology manufacturing hub. Industry leaders say the upcoming Budget is a critical opportunity to strengthen domestic capabilities, reduce supply-chain dependence, and sustain export-led growth.
With Budget 2026 approaching, industry leaders want policy continuity to turn India’s manufacturing scale into long-term global competitiveness.
Ravi Kunwar, VP and CEO of HMD India and APAC, stressed that extending the smartphone PLI scheme beyond March 2026 and rolling out a strengthened PLI 2.0 will be vital to maintaining momentum. He said higher incentives on incremental sales could help sustain India’s projected $75 billion in mobile production and over $30 billion in exports by FY26, while building on the more than 1.3 million jobs created under the Make in India initiative. Kunwar also highlighted the need for policy support across raw materials, R&D, AI-led innovation, and skills development.
"Going forward, policy interventions should further reinforce Make in India through incentives for local manufacturing, raw material subsidies, export support, investments in R&D, AI-driven innovation, and skill development. Parallelly, we also request a focused allocation toward multimodal logistics infrastructure including rail corridors, roads, warehousing, logistics parks, and power subsidies. This step can significantly reduce logistics costs, currently estimated at 7.9% of GDP, while streamlining supply chains and component imports. Such targeted measures will drive in the direction of deeper manufacturing commitments, strengthen supply-chain resilience, and firmly position India as a globally competitive and sustainable technology export hub," Kunwar said.
Beyond smartphones, the electronics and wearables industry is also calling for sustained policy continuity. Varun Gupta, Co-Founder of GOBOULT, said the sector has evolved rapidly from assembly-based operations to capability-driven manufacturing. With strong policy backing, India has attracted capital into electronics design, tooling, and supply chains, enabling manufacturers to compete globally on quality, speed, and reliability. Gupta believes the next phase will depend on deeper investments in component manufacturing, R&D, and export-linked incentives to help companies move up the value chain.
On the digital front, Rakesh Dosi, Chief Business Officer at Protean eGov Technologies, said the Budget should position Digital Public Infrastructure as a mainstream driver of economic and social outcomes. Continued investments in DPI, skilling, and modular deployment frameworks, he noted, could also help India export population-scale digital solutions to global markets.
Meanwhile, Manoj Nair, Head of Applications at Fujitsu said, "India must continues to strengthen its position as a global hub for technology and Global Capability Centres (GCCs), the Union Budget 2026 presents a timely opportunity to accelerate enterprise-led innovation. A focused push on AI, and technologies such as quantum computing supported by investments in R&D and digital infrastructure will be critical in enabling scalable, future-ready solutions."
