RAS question
India is now the world's ______ largest mobile phone manufacturing country.
Correct answer: (B) Second largest.
India is the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturing country.
Explanation
The answer is "Second largest" because the PIB backgrounder on India's electronics sector says, first in its key takeaways and again under "Mobile Manufacturing and Exports", that India is the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer. The same section explains the scale behind that rank: mobile phone production rose from Rs 18,000 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 5.45 lakh crore in 2024-25, while the manufacturing base expanded from 2 units in 2014 to over 300 units today. It also links the wider electronics push to Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Production Linked Incentive support, and stronger exports. So the blank asks for India's global rank in mobile phone manufacturing, not its export rank or overall electronics-production size.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Largest is wrong because the PIB source identifies India as the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer, not the largest.
- (C) Third largest is wrong because it understates the rank confirmed by PIB's second-largest statement.
- (D) Fourth largest is wrong because it places India below the rank stated in the official PIB backgrounder.
Concept
This tests Indian Economy current affairs on manufacturing-sector growth, especially electronics and mobile manufacturing under policy-led industrial development. It matters for RAS because national production rankings and Make in India-linked sectoral growth are common ways to test applied economic development.