India's Electronics Ambition: Takeaways from a Week of Stakeholder Meetings

May 22, 2026
KEY SUMMARY

  • India is moving aggressively to grow its electronics ecosystem, with strong government focus on scaling design, manufacturing, semiconductors, components, and PCB production as part of a broader push toward a $500B+ industry by 2030-31.

  • Talent and policy are emerging as core strengths, with India pairing a deep engineering base and global chip-design expertise with industrial programs, incentives, and workforce development efforts aimed at building long-term manufacturing capacity.

  • The Global Electronics Association is deepening its presence in the region, expanding government relations in India and Southeast Asia to help bring global industry perspective, strengthen collaboration, and support the growth of India’s electronics design and manufacturing ecosystem.

by Chris Mitchell, chief advocacy officer, Global Electronics Association 

I was thrilled to be in India last week with Gaurab Majumdar, the Association’s Vice President of India, Southeast Asia & MEA, for meetings with government leaders, peer associations, industry stakeholders, and member companies — including Tata Advance, Rossell Techsys & Thales India. The visit coincided with our decision to expand and deepen our government relations program in India and Southeast Asia; we will soon hire a dedicated lead in India to engage strategically and consistently with policymakers and industry. Our goal is to contribute to the national conversation as a global voice — partnering with India's strong network of tech and electronics associations to bring worldwide perspective and help accelerate the growth of India's electronics design and manufacturing ecosystem.

Chris Mitchell visit

Here are my top takeaways from the trip, informed by on-the-ground conversations and India's current policy trajectory.

1. India's vision for electronics is grounded and granular. India doesn't just embrace the idea of a robust electronics ecosystem; it understands the segments, economics, and growth drivers that spur investment in design and manufacturing capabilities. With electronics production reaching roughly $135B in FY2024-25 and exports near $39B, the government's ambition to build a $500B+ ecosystem by 2030-31 is animating coordinated action across ministries and industry.

2. Iteration is built into the industrial strategy. Leaders stressed speed and learning: not every investment will land perfectly, and that's expected. The government has introduced a range of investment schemes — Skill India, Make in India, Digital India, Production Linked Incentives, the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme, and the India Semiconductor Mission — all helping India move from large-scale assembly toward deeper value-chain development. Importantly, the posture is to iterate: adjusting policy levers, streamlining processes, and recalibrating incentives to keep capital flowing and projects moving, particularly as firms diversify global supply chains toward trusted, scalable locations.

3. Semiconductors: from design strength to manufacturing scale. India's near-total reliance on imported chips is a recognized strategic vulnerability, and the government's India Semiconductor Mission — backed by roughly $10 billion in incentives across fabs, packaging, and design — aims to change that. With about 20% of the world's chip-design workforce, India has genuine talent to build on; the challenge is translating that strength into competitive domestic manufacturing at scale. Every meeting I had reinforced how central that manufacturing buildout is to India's broader ambitions.

4. PCBs are a national priority. India has historically held a small share of global PCB fabrication, but is now treating PCBs as essential infrastructure for electronics competitiveness — with policy focus, capacity investment, and ecosystem-building aligned across Make in India, Digital India, and PLI programs aimed at moving the country from assembly to deeper value-chain participation. The 2025 Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme explicitly targets PCBs alongside other critical components, complementing a broader PLI for electronics components that funds multi-layer PCBs, SMD passives, and related parts where India remains heavily import-dependent.

5. Talent is the flywheel — and investment is following. India's workforce advantage is not just about scale; it is about depth. The country produces roughly 1.5 million engineering graduates annually and is home to approximately 20% of the world's semiconductor chip-design talent — a concentration that has made India a default location for Global Capability Centres across the electronics and semiconductor sectors. Over 1,700 GCCs now operate in India, spanning R&D, embedded systems, chip design, and advanced manufacturing support. Government and industry are reinforcing this base through expanded training pipelines, industry-aligned university programs, and skills certification frameworks tied to OSAT/ATMP, packaging, and compound semiconductor manufacturing. 

The Association is actively engaged in the workforce effort, working with government ministries and peer associations to align training and credentialing with global industry standards. Doing so ensures that as manufacturing capacity grows, the talent pipeline meets the quality, process, and technology expectations of customers and partners worldwide. The talent story is what gives India's manufacturing ambitions their credibility. The engineering base is already here, capital is increasingly following it, and we intend to help make sure the workforce is ready to deliver.

6. Navigating geopolitics as an opportunity. In a more dynamic global environment, India is positioning itself as a reliable, scalable node in diversified supply chains. The focus is on adaptability — attracting investment, advancing indigenous design, and building resilience — so firms can grow amid shifting global trade dynamics.

Bottom line: The energy in India is real. Ambition is increasingly matched with execution. I left with a clear sense that India believes it has the right ingredients to lead across electronics design and manufacturing and it is moving with intent to make that vision a reality.