Shifting from imports, India now exporting mobile phones worth $3 billion: PM Modi

At present, India is exporting mobile phones worth $3 billion while reducing imports significantly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of India's 75th Independence Day, Modi said, "Seven years ago, we used to import mobile phones worth approximately $8 billion. Now imports have reduced. Today, we are exporting mobile phones worth $3 billion.”

The government has announced a production linked incentive scheme to further the flagship 'Make in India' mission. The Ministry of Electronics and IT has cleared 16 proposals from domestic and international companies entailing an investment of Rs 148 billion under the production linked incentive (PLI) for global majors as well as domestic companies.

The Prime Minister said as the country's manufacturing sector is advancing, "We should focus on making the best quality products that can stand in the global market."

He said that now startups are getting incorporated in small cities even in tier-II and tier-III cities in various sectors and they have played an important role in taking Indian products to the international market.

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"Government is standing with full vigour behind our start-ups. Be it giving them financial support (or) simplifying rules, everything is being done," Modi said.

Thousands of startups, he said, have emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic and are becoming unicorns.

Modi also announced that the government will develop an e-commerce platform for giving women self-help groups (SHG) larger access to countrywide and global markets for their products.

He said that there is a rapid transformation taking place in the villages and now the optical fibre network is reaching villages.

According to official data, the government has laid over 5.3 lakh kilometre Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) under the Bharatnet project and 1,53,836 gram panchayats (GPs) have been made service ready on OFC media.

"The Internet is reaching villages. Digital entrepreneurs are getting ready in villages. Our more than 8 crore sisters, connected to self-help groups, make products. The government will now make an e-commerce portal for giving their products a large market in the country and overseas," the Prime Minister said.