New Delhi, October 28, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday defended India’s electronics manufacturing push, citing tax revenues and employment generated under the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile phone manufacturing in response to a Bloomberg analysis questioning its economic benefits.
In a post on social media platform X, Vaishnaw highlighted the government’s incentive payments, tax collections and job creation under the mobile PLI programme, arguing that the scheme had delivered substantial returns to the economy.
According to the minister, the government has paid ₹19,000 crore in incentives under the scheme, while direct tax collections from the sector have reached ₹25,000 crore and Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections have touched ₹3 lakh crore.
Vaishnaw also highlighted the employment generated by the electronics manufacturing sector, stating that it currently supports approximately 25 lakh jobs, with mobile phone manufacturing alone accounting for nearly 12 lakh jobs.
Sharing the figures, the minister wrote: “Mobile PLI stats as follows: Government incentive paid: Rs 19,000 Cr. Direct tax collected: Rs 25,000 Cr. GST collected: Rs 3,00,000 Cr. Electronics manufacturing employs 25 Lakh people; mobile manufacturing alone employs 12 Lakh.”
He ended his post with the remark, “Cope harder!!”
Vaishnaw’s comments came in response to a Bloomberg analysis that questioned whether India’s efforts to replicate China’s electronics manufacturing success would generate the desired economic benefits.
The analysis acknowledged India’s emergence as a major smartphone manufacturing hub, including for Apple’s iPhones, but raised concerns about the limited domestic production of several critical electronic components.
According to the report, India now manufactures nearly one in every four iPhones. However, it argued that the domestic value addition remains limited because key components, including processors, memory chips, batteries and camera lenses, continue to be sourced heavily from overseas suppliers.
The analysis also questioned the scale of government subsidies offered under the PLI scheme, suggesting that India may be spending substantially to attract manufacturers and offset higher production costs.
The exchange highlights the debate over the effectiveness of India’s electronics manufacturing strategy, with the government pointing to tax collections and employment as evidence of its benefits, while critics have raised questions about domestic value addition, dependence on imported components and the long-term economics of subsidies.
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