For decades, Bharat was told that manufacturing was not its natural strength, that its future lay primarily in services and that China and the East Asian economies had already occupied the industrial space. That narrative is now being challenged by reality. A manufacturing transformation is underway—and its scale would have appeared almost unimaginable a decade ago. The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes across 14 sectors have already attracted more than ₹2.40 lakh crore in actual investment as of March 2026, while generating more than ₹15.2 lakh crore in exports and over 14.15 lakh direct and indirect jobs. Cumulative production and sales under the schemes have crossed ₹20 lakh crore. These are not merely government slogans. They are indicators of a structural shift. Electronics perhaps provides the most dramatic evidence. Electronics production has risen from around ₹1.9 lakh crore in 2014-15 to over ₹12 lakh crore in 2024-25, while electronics exports increased from about ₹38,000 crore to nearly ₹3.3 lakh crore. Mobile-phone production has multiplied nearly 30 times, while mobile-phone exports have risen from just ₹1,500 crore to around ₹2 lakh crore. By Oct 2026, the electronics ecosystem was estimated to support around 25 lakh jobs, with mobile manufacturing alone accounting for roughly 12 lakh jobs. The participation of women in high-precision mobile manufacturing is particularly encouraging. This is where the significance of Make in India becomes unmistakable. Bharat is not simply trying to replace imports with domestic assembly. The larger ambition is to move progressively up the value chain—from finished products to components, sub-assemblies, semiconductor fabrication, design, machinery and eventually critical technologies. That distinction matters. China still possesses a vastly deeper industrial ecosystem and technological scale. Vietnam remains formidable in high-volume export manufacturing and assembly. Bharat therefore cannot afford complacency. Its competitive advantages are different: a market of more than 1.4 billion people, a growing digital economy, an expanding skilled workforce, improving infrastructure and the ability to combine manufacturing with a huge domestic consumption base. The opportunity is enormous.
Defence and aerospace, semiconductors, electronics, smartphones, electric vehicles, batteries, solar modules, pharmaceuticals, telecom equipment and data-centre infrastructure are no longer distant ambitions. They are becoming important components of Bharat’s industrial landscape. The semiconductor push is particularly strategic. The objective is not merely to manufacture chips but to create an ecosystem encompassing fabrication, packaging, design, equipment and related supply chains. Similarly, renewable-energy manufacturing can potentially turn Bharat from a major importer into a globally competitive producer and exporter. But this transformation cannot be taken for granted. Manufacturing still accounts for only about 13 per cent of nominal GDP, according to the Economic Survey 2025-26. Regulatory complexity, variations between States, logistics, land, skilled manpower and the depth of domestic component ecosystems remain challenges. The next phase must therefore be about productivity, scale, technology and global competitiveness—not merely announcing factories. The end of an era of unrestricted globalisation and the emergence of more protectionist trade policies in major economies have made resilient domestic supply chains strategically important. Bharat has an opportunity that comes perhaps once in a generation. The real prize is not simply becoming the next China or Vietnam. Bharat must build its own manufacturing model. Millions of productive jobs, rising wages, technology transfer, stronger MSMEs, larger exports and reduced strategic dependence can follow if the ecosystem is allowed to mature. This is why political and policy stability matters. The global economic order is undergoing a profound reset, with greater economic weight shifting towards Asia and the Global South. Bharat cannot afford to squander its opportunity through policy reversals, short-term political obstruction or needless uncertainty. The next decade could determine whether Bharat merely participates in the new industrial order—or helps shape it. The manufacturing era has begun. Bharat must now ensure that it becomes Bharat’s era.
