NEW DELHI: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Make in India on September 25, 2014, the objective was to make India a global hub for manufacturing, design and innovation through investment, innovation and world-class infrastructure. Twelve years later, the initiative has expanded into Make in India 2.0, covering 27 sectors, including 15 manufacturing sectors. The next question is no longer simply whether Bharat can manufacture products at scale, but whether it can build the complete industrial ecosystem behind them i.e., from components and machines to skilled workers, technology, logistics, research and global supply chains.
But becoming a factory floor for the world means more than producing large volumes of finished goods. It means Bharat should have suppliers, components, machines, skilled workers, technology, logistics, research capabilities and export networks who are needed to support manufacturing at scale. The real test for India, therefore, is whether it can move from being a place where products are assembled to a country where much more of the value behind those products is created.
From “Make in India” to a deeper manufacturing ecosystem
The original Make in India vision was about changing the role of Bharat in global manufacturing. Instead of being primarily a market for imported products, it was to become an increasingly important location for manufacturing, investment, design and exports. Over the years, this approach was supported by multiple policy measures, including the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, PM GatiShakti, industrial corridors, the National Single Window System, the India Industrial Land Bank and reforms which aim to reduce the compliance burdens and improve the ease of doing business.
Make in India 2.0 now covers 27 sectors. The manufacturing list includes electronics, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, telecom equipment, solar PV modules, specialty steel, textiles, food processing and other industries. The change is important because a global manufacturing hub is not built around one factory. It is built around the network of companies that supply that factory.
That distinction matters.
A smartphone factory, for example, is only one part of the manufacturing chain. Behind it are displays, circuit boards, batteries, cameras, chips, packaging, machinery, logistics companies and suppliers. This is also where the difference between Make in India and creating value in India becomes important. A product can be assembled domestically while some of its critical components, technology or machinery continue to come from abroad. Thus, deepening domestic value addition is one of the next tests of India’s manufacturing ambitions.
Electronics shows what has changed
Electronics is perhaps the clearest example of India’s manufacturing transformation. Government data shows that India’s electronics production increased from around Rs 1.9 lakh crore in 2014-15 to an estimated Rs 13.11 lakh crore in 2025-26, almost a seven-fold increase. Electronics exports rose from Rs 38,263 crore to around Rs 4.24 lakh crore during the same period.
The change is particularly visible in mobile phones.
Mobile-phone production increased from around Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 6.27 lakh crore in 2025-26. Mobile-phone exports rose from about Rs 1,566 crore to Rs 2.60 lakh crore. According to the government, India has become the world’s second-largest mobile-phone manufacturer by volume, while 99.2 per cent of mobile phones used in India are now manufactured domestically.
This is a major shift from the situation a decade ago, when India depended heavily on imported mobile phones. But the next phase is about going deeper. The question is no longer only how many phones India can assemble, but how much of the phone and how much of the technology behind it that Bharat can make.
The next question: what goes inside the product?
Manufacturing depth can broadly be understood in layers. The first is assembly. The second is domestic component production. The third is the ability to design, engineer and develop the technologies of the product. The deeper Bharat moves across these layers, the greater the value it can retain within the country.
If a mobile phone is manufactured in India but many of its critical components are imported, India still remains dependent on external supply chains. This is why the government has moved towards developing the components ecosystem.
The Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) is designed to encourage manufacturing of components and sub-assemblies and strengthen domestic supply chains. The areas include components such as printed circuit boards, camera and display modules, connectors, capacitors, lithium-ion cells and other electronic parts. After approving 75 applications with an investment of Rs 61,671 crore, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) approved 31 more proposals with a projected investment of Rs 6,844 crore. With these approvals, 106 projects covering 30 products across 15 states have been approved. Together, these projects are expected to bring in Rs 69,548 crore in investment, generate Rs 5.34 lakh crore in production and create 74,628 direct jobs.
The idea is clear that instead of having one large factory assembling a product, Bharat wants a network of Indian manufacturers supplying parts, components, services and technology to that factory. That creates more opportunities for MSMEs and increases the amount of value created within the country.
Mobile manufacturing enters its next phase
The first phase was about establishing India as a major place for mobile-phone production. The next phase is about making more of the phone inside India and increasing the technological and design capabilities associated with it. The government has notified the Rs 62,500-crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme for five years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31. It aims to increase mobile phone production in India and encourage more components to be made locally. The scheme will also support Indian mobile brands, design and research and development. The Modi government expects mobile phone production to reach around Rs 39 lakh crore during the scheme period and create about 60,000 direct jobs.
From electronics to semiconductors
India’s first semiconductor fab is scheduled to be commissioned in 2028. Unlike final assembly, semiconductor manufacturing requires a much deeper industrial ecosystem involving specialised materials, equipment, precision engineering, research and highly skilled talent.
Semiconductors are essential for smartphones, automobiles, computers, telecom equipment, defence systems and artificial intelligence technologies. But semiconductor manufacturing requires much more than a fabrication plant. It needs chip design, specialised equipment, materials, chemicals, gases, packaging, testing, research facilities and highly trained professionals.
The Union Cabinet has approved Semicon 2.0 with an outlay of Rs 1.27 lakh crore to build India’s semiconductor industry. The programme focuses on chip design, machines and materials, new chip factories, advanced packaging, research and talent development. India’s first semiconductor fab is scheduled to be commissioned in 2028. The government says 105 startups are already developing chips, while around 68,000 students have been trained in chip design across 315 universities.
The broader manufacturing strategy extends well beyond electronics.
The government has introduced PLI schemes across 14 sectors, including electronics, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, solar modules, telecom, textiles and food processing.
As of March 31, 2026, these schemes had attracted more than Rs 2.40 lakh crore in actual investment and generated over 14.15 lakh direct and indirect jobs. Cumulative exports under the PLI schemes reached Rs 15.2 lakh crore by FY 2025-26. The main aim is to encourage companies to invest, increase production in India and make Indian manufacturing more competitive globally.
A company that produces only for a small market is likely to face a different cost structure from one producing millions of units for customers across several countries.
A global factory needs a global logistics network
A manufacturing plant cannot operate on its own. It needs reliable electricity, roads, warehouses, skilled workers, suppliers and transport networks. Finished goods must then reach domestic and international markets. This is where infrastructure initiatives such as PM GatiShakti, industrial corridors, industrial parks and logistics reforms become part of the manufacturing story. The government has also developed the India Industrial Land Bank, a GIS-enabled platform providing information on industrial land and related infrastructure for investors. The objective is to connect manufacturing with the infrastructure required to make production efficient. In simple terms, building a factory is only the beginning. For a product to reach a customer in another country, the factory needs an ecosystem of roads, railways, ports, warehouses, power, suppliers and logistics services around it.
MSMEs: the businesses behind the big factories
This is why the growth of MSMEs is closely connected to the larger Make in India story. An automobile manufacturer can have hundreds of suppliers. Electronics companies require component makers, packaging firms, logistics providers, maintenance services and specialised engineering companies. This is why the growth of MSMEs is closely connected to the larger Make in India story.
The government says MSMEs are increasingly being integrated into global value chains and are supporting large manufacturers through ancillary and supply-chain activities. In electronics alone, more than 85 MSMEs have been supported under various MeitY schemes. If this network expands, manufacturing can create economic activity beyond the factory gate across industrial clusters, supplier companies, logistics, services and local employment.
Even shipping containers are becoming part of the story. The government has announced a Rs 10,000 crore scheme for container manufacturing. It aims to build a globally competitive domestic container manufacturing ecosystem. The initiative is also intended to support investment, technology development, testing, skilling and capacity expansion.
Global Competition
India is not building its manufacturing ecosystem in an empty market. Countries with established industrial bases already have dense networks of suppliers, ports, skilled workers, technology companies and export-oriented manufacturers. China, in particular, has spent decades building a large-scale manufacturing ecosystem across multiple industries.
For India, therefore, the challenge is not simply to attract factories. It is to build the depth and scale that makes companies choose India as a long-term production and export base.
The success of manufacturing will ultimately be measured not only in factories and export figures, but also in the opportunities created around them. Large plants create direct employment, but their wider impact can extend to suppliers, logistics companies, maintenance services, warehouses, engineering firms and local businesses.
The next test: Can Bharat go deeper?
The next phase of Make in India is therefore likely to be less about simply counting factories and more about measuring manufacturing depth.
- Can India make the components?
- Can Indian companies supply global manufacturers?
- Can domestic firms develop machines and specialised materials?
- Can workers operate increasingly automated and technology-intensive factories?
- Can products made in India meet international standards and compete on cost and quality?
- Can Indian companies move beyond being suppliers and become owners of technology, intellectual property and global brands?
The Modi government’s recent initiatives suggest that these are increasingly the areas of focus. Electronics components are being supported. Mobile manufacturing is being scaled further. Semiconductor design, fabs, packaging, equipment and materials are being developed. PLI schemes are supporting production across 14 sectors. Infrastructure and logistics are being strengthened, while MSMEs are being connected to larger supply chains.
From “Made in India” to “Made for the World”
The first chapter of Make in India was about creating the conditions for companies to manufacture in India. The next chapter is deeper. It is about components, technology, design, skills, suppliers, infrastructure and exports. The larger challenge is therefore not simply to put a “Made in India” label on more products, but to increase the amount of technology, design, components, skills and value created behind that label.
It is about building the industrial capabilities behind those products.
If India can deepen domestic value addition, develop globally competitive suppliers, strengthen technology and skills, and consistently produce goods for international markets, the manufacturing base created over the past decade can become broader and more resilient. That is the next phase of Make in India: not just making more in Bharat, but building more of the manufacturing ecosystem that the world needs
