A new ₹62,500-crore government scheme wants to do more than assemble iPhones in India — it wants to build the next Indian smartphone brand from scratch.
For over a decade, “Made in India” smartphones have largely meant global brands assembling devices on Indian soil. That could be about to change. Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has revealed that the government is in active talks with three Indian companies that could emerge as genuine homegrown smartphone brands within the next 10 to 14 months — a shift from manufacturing muscle to actual product ownership.
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What Was Announced
Speaking as the government notified its new Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS), Vaishnaw said three unnamed Indian firms are being evaluated to potentially launch their own smartphone brands, provided the core design-linked intellectual property is owned by an Indian entity with at least 51% Indian citizen ownership.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Scheme outlay | ₹62,500 crore, spread over 5 years |
| Scheme duration | April 1, 2026 to FY 2031 |
| Companies in talks | 3 (names undisclosed) |
| Expected brand timeline | 10–14 months |
| Segment of interest | High-volume smartphones |
Why This Matters
The MPMS replaces the earlier production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme that closed on March 31, and shifts policy focus toward components and higher domestic value addition rather than just rewarding assembly volumes. Companies applying under the scheme’s brand-focused segment are evaluating which of India’s four broad price categories to target, though for now they’ve expressed interest in the highest-volume segment — think budget and mid-range devices rather than a premium play out the gate.
India has moved from being a mobile phone importer to a net exporter and is now the world’s second-largest mobile manufacturer by volume, with 99.2% of handsets sold domestically also manufactured in the country. The missing piece has always been Indian-owned brands and IP — precisely what this scheme is designed to fix.
Not the First Such Promise
This isn’t the first time the timeline has been floated. Vaishnaw made a similar prediction in January 2026 at Davos, suggesting Indian brands with global ambitions could arrive within 12 to 18 months. The new announcement narrows that window and ties it directly to a notified, funded scheme rather than a general ambition — a meaningfully more concrete signal.
Indian homegrown brands could realistically hit shelves by mid-2027 if the 10–14 month timeline holds, according to multiple reports following the announcement.
It’s also worth remembering India isn’t starting from zero — homegrown players like Lava have persisted through the Chinese-brand dominance of the past decade, giving the government at least one working template for what a resilient domestic brand looks like.
Apple and Google in the Mix Too
The same announcement carried another headline: Vaishnaw said Apple could manufacture products beyond the iPhone in India, and the government is in talks with the company to broaden its local assembly range. For more on Apple’s evolving India strategy, TechnoSports’ recent coverage of the Apple-Intel modem deal is a useful companion read on how deep that integration is going.
For full scheme details, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has the official notification.
Bottom Line
Three unnamed Indian companies, a ₹62,500-crore incentive scheme, and a 10–14 month runway — it’s an ambitious bet on India finally producing a homegrown smartphone brand with real IP behind it, not just an assembly line. Whether any of the three materialize into an actual product on store shelves is the story to watch through 2027. TechnoSports will track this as more details on the companies involved emerge.
