After Chinese Brand Dominance, India Bets On A Homegrown Smartphone By Mid-2027

India could have a competitive homegrown mobile phone brand by the middle of next year, electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday. He said three Indian companies are currently in talks with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to apply under the government’s new Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS), but their names have not been disclosed.

The government notified the ₹62,500-crore MPMS on Friday after the Union Cabinet approved it in July. The five-year scheme will run from FY2026-27 to FY2030-31 and has two segments — one for large-scale mobile phone manufacturing and another specifically aimed at building Indian mobile phone brands.

Vaishnaw said the government wants the next generation of Indian brands to have Indian-owned intellectual property and design capabilities. “The time has come to refocus on building an Indian brand, with Indian IP and Indian design,” he said.

Three Companies In Talks With MeitY

Vaishnaw said three companies are currently being evaluated for the Indian-brand segment, but declined to identify them. He said the government has made ownership of the smartphone’s core design-linked intellectual property an important condition.

To qualify, an Indian brand must be incorporated in India, hold its intellectual property and trademarks in the country and have management control with Indian citizens. More than 51% of the company must be owned by Indian citizens, while it must also maintain in-house R&D and design capabilities in India.

The companies are also considering which part of the smartphone market to target. Vaishnaw said there are four broad price segments and the firms have so far shown interest in the highest-volume segment. He expects a brand supported under the scheme to enter the industry next year.

India Wants To Build Its Own Smartphone Brand

The push comes as India's smartphone market remains dominated by foreign brands. According to Counterpoint Research, Vivo, OPPO, Xiaomi, including POCO, and Realme together accounted for roughly 55% of smartphone shipments in India in the April-June quarter.

Homegrown companies such as Lava, Micromax, Jio and Ai+ have a smaller presence. The government is now trying to use incentives to encourage Indian companies to build brands, technology and intellectual property rather than focus only on domestic manufacturing.

Under the scheme, Indian mobile brands will receive a 5% incentive on eligible sales, along with an additional 3% incentive for Indian design and R&D. Both segments can also receive an additional incentive of up to 1.5% for domestic sourcing of key components and sub-assemblies, subject to localisation requirements.

The scheme will be implemented through a Project Management Agency, while an empowered committee chaired by the MeitY secretary will oversee approvals, incentives and performance reviews. Detailed implementation guidelines will be issued separately.