The Anatomy of Value Creation: Input-Output Linkages, Policy Shifts, and Economic Impact in India’s Mobile Phone GVC

Accurate measurement of Global Value Chains (GVCs) is a critical challenge for national statistics offices, complicated by persistent asymmetries in international trade data. This paper addresses the critical data needs for understanding evolving Global Value Chains (GVCs), a core theme of the Forum. It provides a methodological blueprint and robust empirical evidence to resolve asymmetries in trade statistics and accurately measures national income aggregates amidst GVC-led industrialization. This paper presents this challenge by examining India’s mobile phone manufacturing GVC, where critiques suggest official trade data masks a large deficit due to high component import dependency. We respond to this statistical challenge by introducing a pioneering new methodological approach, a significant step forward in GVC measurement. The study's core innovation is constructing highly disaggregated (7-digit) annual Supply-Use and symmetric Input-Output Tables for India from 2016-17 to 2022-23, derived directly from official plant-level microdata (Annual Survey of Industries). This framework, adhering to SNA 2025 principles, allows for a precise decomposition of economic flows. Applying this model, we resolve the noted trade asymmetry, demonstrating that a refined calculation—accounting for actual component utilization and foreign exchange savings—reveals a positive and growing adjusted trade balance since 2019, a promising development for India's mobile phone industry. Furthermore, the analysis quantifies the significant deepening of domestic backward linkages, with indirect Domestic Value Added (DVA) growing exceptionally. This paper provides a replicable statistical framework for accurately measuring GVC linkages and resolving data discrepancies, offering a robust foundation for evidence-based policy in a dynamic global economy.