PLI Scheme Spurs Growth: Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, announced on Thursday that the government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme has resulted in the creation of 500,000 incremental jobs in the mobile phone industry. This disclosure came during the inauguration of Dixon Technologies (India)’s latest smartphone manufacturing facility in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Vaishnaw praised the development of India’s design and component manufacturing ecosystem, describing it as “highly encouraging.” He highlighted the increasing trend of domestic value addition, reaching as high as 60% in some products.

Dixon Technologies, India’s largest home-grown electronics manufacturing services player, commenced smartphone manufacturing for the Chinese device maker Xiaomi in the third quarter of the calendar year 2023. The new manufacturing unit, operated by Padget Electronics—a wholly-owned smartphone manufacturing subsidiary of Dixon—employs as many as 5,000 people for the large-scale production of smartphones and feature phones.

Atul Lall, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Dixon Technologies (India), expressed excitement about the collaboration with Xiaomi India, describing it as a “new chapter” that exemplifies synergy between the two organizations. The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, spanning 227,000 square feet and built with an investment of Rs 256 crore, has an annual production capacity of 25 million units.

The move aligns with the Indian government’s push for Chinese smartphone makers to export from India, promoting increased localization in mobile phone production. Sunil Vachani, Executive Chairman of Dixon Technologies (India), emphasized the positive impact of the association with Xiaomi, leveraging excellence and superior execution.

As of the third quarter of the calendar year 2023, Xiaomi is the fourth-largest smartphone brand in India, holding a market share of 11.7%, according to data from the International Data Corporation. Dixon’s new facility is poised to contribute significantly to fulfilling manufacturing targets.

In May of this year, Dixon announced a partnership with Xiaomi India for manufacturing and exporting Made-in-India smartphones. The company’s commitment to a cumulative production value of Rs 48,000 crore in six years makes it eligible under the reworked PLI scheme for information technology products. This move positions Dixon Technologies as a major contributor to the collective commitment of Rs 3.5 trillion by 27 eligible companies over six years.