High-value electronics emerge as the new battleground for India’s manufacturers

High-value electronics such as smartphones, servers, telecom gear and automotive electronics are rapidly emerging as the new battleground for Indian manufacturers as the country seeks to move up the global value chain. Government data show India’s electronics production has jumped from about ₹1.9 lakh crore in 2014–15 to ₹11.3 lakh crore in 2024–25, driven largely by a surge in mobile phone manufacturing and exports.

Policy support through schemes such as the production-linked incentive (PLI), phased manufacturing programme and the Semicon India initiative is now nudging companies to shift from basic assembly toward higher-value products and components. Industry studies project India’s overall electronics manufacturing to touch around 300 billion US dollars by 2026, with a rising share coming from premium categories and complex devices rather than low-margin goods.

Analysts say the next phase of competition will be in areas like 5G and broadband equipment, data-centre hardware, EV and automotive electronics, industrial IoT devices and advanced consumer electronics, where design capability, localised supply chains and scale will be critical differentiators. Global and domestic players are ramping up investments in EMS and ODM capacities in India, positioning the country as an alternative manufacturing base amid supply-chain diversification away from China.

Success in these high-value segments, experts argue, will determine whether India can deepen local value addition and transform from a large electronics assembly hub into a global design-and-manufacturing powerhouse.

CT Bureau