India Set to Become Major Player in Electronics Ecosystem, Production Grows Sixfold in 11 Years

New Delhi: Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated on Monday that India is poised to become a significant player across the entire electronics ecosystem, including design, manufacturing, operating systems, applications, materials, and equipment.

In a social media post on platform ‘X’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted that Apple has shipped mobile phones worth 50 billion dollars from India in 2025. He described this achievement as a major milestone for the Make in India initiative and the country’s shift towards a production-driven economy.

Vaishnaw said, “Under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, electronics production has increased six times in the last 11 years. Electronics exports have grown eightfold, making electronics one of the top three export sectors for the country.”

The minister added that the addition of 46 component manufacturing projects, along with producers of laptops, servers, and audio devices, is driving the electronics manufacturing sector to become a key growth engine for the economy.

He also mentioned that commercial production will begin this year at four semiconductor plants. Currently, the electronics manufacturing sector supports employment for 2.5 million people, with many manufacturing units employing over 5,000 workers at a single location. Some units even have up to 40,000 employees at one site.

Earlier, the central government approved 24 new chip design projects under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme to strengthen the Indian semiconductor industry. These projects cover areas such as video surveillance, drone detection, energy meters, microprocessors, satellite communication, broadband, and IoT system-on-chips (SoCs).

Semiconductor chip design is the most value-adding part of the chip-making process. It contributes 50 percent to the supply chain and accounts for 30-35 percent of global semiconductor sales through the fabless segment.

The government statement noted that DLI-supported schemes are progressing rapidly. So far, the scheme has seen participation in 16 tape-outs, 6 ASIC chips, 10 patents, and involvement of over 1,000 engineers. Private investment in this sector has also tripled.