New Delhi: Apple Inc. has recorded its highest-ever annual exports from India, with shipments of iPhones surpassing Rs 2 lakh crore in calendar year 2025, according to industry data. This marks the first time the company has crossed the milestone since beginning large-scale domestic production in 2021.

Exports between January and December 2025 reached an estimated $23 billion (Rs 2.03 lakh crore), reflecting a surge of nearly 85 per cent compared with the previous year.

iPhone shipments drive PLI performance

The milestone comes with less than three months remaining in Apple’s five-year production-linked incentive (PLI) period. The company has largely concentrated on boosting exports under the scheme.

During the first nine months of FY26 alone, iPhone exports touched almost $16 billion, lifting Apple’s cumulative shipments under the PLI programme above the $50-billion threshold.

For comparison, Samsung’s total exports across its own five-year PLI tenure from FY21 to FY25 stood at around $17 billion.

Expanding manufacturing footprint

Apple’s manufacturing presence in India now includes five iPhone assembly facilities—three run by Tata Group entities and two by Foxconn. These plants are supported by a domestic supply chain of roughly 45 companies, many of them MSMEs providing components for both the Indian market and global production lines.

The rise in Apple’s output has played a major role in India’s shifting export landscape. With iPhones making up close to 75 per cent of smartphone exports, smartphones became India’s largest exported product category in FY25. A decade earlier, they ranked 167th among export items.

India has also grown into the world’s second-largest producer of mobile phones, with more than 99 per cent of devices sold domestically now manufactured within the country.

PLI scheme nears deadline amid talks of extension

The smartphone PLI scheme is set to end in March 2026. However, the government is reportedly examining options to extend support, especially after revising rules to allow companies to claim incentives for any five consecutive years within a six-year period.

iPhone 16 leads market in 2025

Beyond its export performance, Apple also saw strong domestic sales, with around 6.5 million units of the iPhone 16 sold in the first 11 months of 2025. The model became India’s highest-selling smartphone during the period. IANS