Think ahead: India's electronics manufacturing must go up the value curve

Mint

03-06-2025

India's smartphone exports stood at $10.96 billion in 2022-23 and surged to $24.14 billion in 2024-25, a striking compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.4%. Long reliant on imports and peripheral to global value chains, India's electronics manufacturing is becoming a pillar for job creation, export growth and technological advancement.
However, India must temper its excitement about labour-led electronics manufacturing growth and double down on boosting domestic value addition.
The 'China plus one' strategy, accelerated by the pandemic and heightened US–China tensions, has led to supply chain diversification by global manufacturers. Among alternatives, India stands out thanks to its vast domestic market, improving infrastructure and large labour supply.
India is the world's second-largest mobile phone making hub now, a status that reflects both expanding production and rising quality standards. It is also well placed to further capitalize on the 'friend-shoring' trend born of geopolitics.
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At the heart of our manufacturing drive is the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, which has attracted significant investments from global players. Apple, for instance, now assembles 10-12% of all iPhones in India.
In 2024-25, iPhone exports amounted to $17.4 billion. Samsung runs the world's largest mobile phone factory in Noida, catering to both domestic and international markets.
Beyond mobile phones, India's Semiconductor Mission, backed by a $10 billion outlay, aims to build a full-stack chip ecosystem, from fabrication units to assembly, testing, marking and packaging facilities, apart from design capabilities. This is critical given that semiconductors are India's second-largest import item after crude oil.
Complementing these efforts is the Electronics Manufacturing Clusters scheme, which provides plug-and-play infrastructure, land and logistical support to manufacturers. India is also gaining momentum in display manufacturing, printed circuit board production, camera modules and power electronics.
We must also seize the global data centre boom—not just as a digital infrastructure opportunity, but as a strategic lever for manufacturing.
Surging worldwide demand for hyperscale data centres and AI infrastructure is rapidly enlarging markets for servers, cooling systems, power equipment and networking components—areas in which India can become globally competitive.
By aligning industrial policy, export incentives and skilling programmes with the needs of global data centre operators, India can attract investment and position itself as a hardware manufacturing hub for digital infrastructure.
A dual strategy of hosting global data and building the infrastructure that powers it could amplify India's economic prospects and influence.
Electronics manufacturing is labour-intensive and could, over the next five years, generate over 1 million direct jobs, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
As domestic value chains deepen, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) could be integrated into global production networks. This would not only spread the benefits of industrial growth, but also help formalize and upgrade India's vast informal manufacturing base.
Also read: Why India's electronics sector is least at risk from Trump's reciprocal tariff scrutiny
Increasing value addition is the other challenge. In smartphone manufacturing, it has improved from 2% in 2014 to 15-16% in 2024, but still trails China's. Premium smartphones exported from India rely on 90-95% imported components.
According to the Global Trade Research Institute, for every $1,000 worth of iPhones that India exports, we capture just $30—compared to $450 by the US and $150 by Taiwan.
India ranks 44th on Harvard University's Economic Complexity Index, a measure of production sophistication, while China is 16th and Taiwan is 4th. Vietnam, ranked 48th, saw a tenfold surge in its manufacturing exports from 2000 to 2023. Yet, its domestic value addition has plateaued since 2010, offering us a cautionary example.
Unlike China and Vietnam, India has not reached the 'Lewis Turning Point' at which developing economies exhaust their labour surpluses and wages begin to rise swiftly. This reflects structural challenges in our labour market.
Until India reaches that point, it is easy to be misled by the apparent advantage of labour availability, without recognizing the pressing need to focus on value addition. For enduring economic growth, India must move up the production value chain and not remain merely a destination for low-value product assembly.
We must invest in precision tooling, high-end materials and critical components manufacturing. Programmes like the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme are important steps, but both their scale and execution speed must increase significantly. We must also sharpen our focus on skilling and sustainability.
Deeper investments in technical education and industry-academia collaboration are vital. While we must adopt globally recognized sustainability practices, our policies on issues like e-waste responsibility must be business-enabling and grounded in operational realities.
Also read: Budget smartphones sell like hot cakes in tepid market
India's electronics manufacturing journey is no longer an experiment—it is now a strategic economic growth pivot. If this momentum continues, the sector could contribute over $300 billion in annual output by 2030, create millions of jobs, boost exports and significantly strengthen India's technological and economic sovereignty.
The author is a strategy and public policy professional. His X handle is @prasannakarthik