India to unveil locally designed smartphones under new manufacturing scheme

Details: Manny Pham; Category: Devices & Platforms; 24 August 2026; 1295 views

India is set to see the launch of locally designed smartphones from three companies within the next 10-14 months, as the government pushes manufacturers to develop original devices rather than copy existing products.

India's ICT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told The Economic Times that three companies backed by the INR625 billion Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) have the potential to launch devices within the timeframe.

Vaishnaw said the government is particularly focused on ensuring that manufacturers receiving support under the scheme develop smartphones with their own intellectual property and original designs.

"We see three players who have the potential of coming up in a timeframe of about 10-14 months from now," said Vaishnaw.

He added that the government would not be flexible when assessing designs, challenging the three companies to produce smartphones capable of competing with the "best in your segment".

Apple and Samsung, among the world's largest smartphone vendors, already operate significant manufacturing operations in India, as the country seeks to expand its domestic smartphone production ecosystem.

Chinese smartphone brands reign supreme in India with the likes of Vivo, Oppo, Realme and Xiaomi regularly ranking as top 10 shipping vendors.

"We had a mobile manufacturing ecosystem. But because of tax issues and the Chinese onslaught, it became impossible for them (Indian companies) to compete in the market. Now that we have been able to establish the ecosystem back in our country, time has come to focus on developing the Indian brand," said Vaishnaw.

The MPMS scheme was introduced following the end of India's Production Linked Incentive scheme for mobile phone manufacturing in March. It will run for five years, with the government expecting cumulative smartphone production to reach almost US$465 billion and generate around 60,000 direct jobs over the period.