‘Cope harder’: Vaishnaw defends India's iPhone PLI scheme
“Cope harder,” says Ashwini Vaishnaw as he defends India’s manufacturing model, citing Rs 3 lakh crore in GST collections, government incentives and jobs created through electronics production.
Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw defended India's iPhone PLI scheme on October 27, 2026, responding to criticism that questioned whether the government's production incentives were truly delivering high-tech independence. Vaishnaw highlighted tax collections of ₹25,000 crore, direct tax revenue of ₹19,000 crore, and a massive 3,00,000 crore in GST collections as proof that the scheme was boosting the economy.
He also pointed to employment figures, stating that electronics manufacturing now supports 25 lakh jobs, with 12 lakh of those in mobile phone production. Despite the growth, imported components still make up a significant portion of the iPhone assembly process in India, leaving room for improvement in building the full supply chain domestically.
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