India IT ministry fears losing out to China, Vietnam in smartphone exports race

NEW DELHI: India risks losing out to China and Vietnam as it seeks to become a major smartphone export hub and must “act fast” to lure global companies with lower tariffs, the deputy IT minister said in government documents seen by Reuters.

Smartphone manufacturing is a key plank of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitions to boost the economy and create jobs by attracting companies such as Apple, Foxconn and Samsung to India, the world’s second-largest mobile market where production grew 16% year-on-year to $44 billion last year.