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Retaining its spot as the second largest global smartphone manufacturer, India’s smartphone exports crossed INR 1 Lakh Cr in the first five months of FY26, President Droupadi Murmu said today, while addressing the first sitting of the Budget session FY26.

Murmu said India’s electronics manufacturing has expanded rapidly over the last decade, with total electronics production increasing sixfold to INR 11 Lakh Cr. Under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, investments worth around INR 2 Lakh Cr have been attracted so far, resulting in production worth over INR 17 Lakh Cr.

She noted that electronics manufacturing alone has created more than 25 Lakh jobs over the last 11 years.

On the automotive front, the President said India’s entry into electric vehicle exports marks a shift from being a largely domestic-focused market to a global supplier, with EVs now being shipped to over 100 countries.

In her address, the President said India’s manufacturing sector has seen record growth over the past year, supported by rising domestic production, exports and policy-led incentives.

Beyond tech exports, the President also informed the Parliament that India’s food grain production touched over 350 Mn tonnes as well as 150 Mn tonnes to become the largest rice-producing country in the world. The country also became the second-largest fish-producer globally.

“I feel a sense of satisfaction to see that the youth, farmers, workers, and entrepreneurs of our country are continuously expanding their role towards building Viksit Bharat. The encouraging statistics of the last year testify to this,” she noted.

Besides, Murmu said India’s startup ecosystem has also expanded alongside manufacturing growth. From a handful of startups a few years back, the country’s startup ecosystem has grown to house a total of 126 unicorns, 147 soonicorns, 60+ minicorns, as well as 57 publicly listed new-age tech startups, reflecting structural integrity.

“Recently, the Startup India Program has completed 10 years. In these 10 years, India has become the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world. A decade ago, there were fewer than 500 startups in the country. Today, nearly two lakh startups have been registered, out of which about 50 thousand new startups have been registered during the last year only. Over 20 lakh youth are working in India’s startup network. There is at least one woman director in 45 percent of these startups,” she said.

The President’s remarks come against the backdrop of a wider push to move India beyond final assembly and build a deeper electronics supply chain. Earlier this month, the Centre cleared 22 projects under the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), approving investments worth INR 41,863 crore.

The ECMS projects will cater to sectors including mobile phones, telecom equipment, consumer electronics, automotive electronics and IT hardware, and are spread across eight states, signalling a broader geographic distribution of electronics manufacturing.

The latest clearances build on approvals given over the past few months. In October 2025, the government cleared seven projects worth INR 5,532 Cr. While in November last year, 17 projects involving INR 7,172 Cr investments were approved.

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